As the Bucs prepare to face the Chiefs on Monday night, there is no question that Tampa Bay is the David to Kansas City’s Goliath.

It will take more than a slingshot to take down this formidable – and undefeated – foe.

Offensive coordinator Liam Coen spoke at his press conference this week about how the offense had adjusted to getting their personnel involved and that Baker Mayfield wants to continue proving himself and his worth despite missing some key pieces.

Bucs Relying On The Remaining Ensemble To Perform

Bucs OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs have embraced the “next man up” mentality throughout the season as injuries have battered both the offense and defense, with the biggest blows obviously being losing star wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Before Evans returns from his hamstring injury in a couple of weeks, it is a makeshift cast of weapons quarterback Baker Mayfield has to work with.

Running backs Rachaad White and Bucky Irving remain the one-two punch, while Sean Tucker should see an uptick in usage. Tight end Cade Otton has arrived just in time to stake his claim in the passing game.

A wide receiver corps headed by Sterling Shepard, Jalen McMillan, Rakim Jarrett and Trey Palmer is not the quartet Liam Coen envisioned leading the room at this point of the season.

Yet, that is the one Coen is entrusted to make work – and make harmonious.

“Yeah, obviously, it’s really hard to replace those guys with the production,” Coen said on gameplanning without Evans and Godwin in the fold. “I thought everybody had to step up in ways [against the Falcons], from a protection standpoint, from the [running] backs, from the tight ends. Everybody had to step up. Was it perfect? Was it as clean as we’d like? Absolutely not. We had too many self-inflicted wounds, but I was proud of their effort – absolutely proud of their effort. We just didn’t play very smart; we didn’t coach very smart in some moments, and we have to learn from those moments.

“But if you’re asking if there’s a positive, the guys who had to step up and make plays, it’s, ‘Okay, they’re taking the next step.’ How do we take the next step now from, ‘Okay, we’re out there,’ to how do we now go out there and be detailed, on the screws, no miscommunication so we take advantage of busted coverages on third downs, we’re on the same page, so we don’t have those penalties and issues occur. That’s the next step we have to take.”

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and TE Cade Otton – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It is not just on Coen to make things work.

The team’s quarterback has to set the tone – and limit turnovers – if the team has any chance of emerging from Arrowhead Stadium with a win. Mayfield has thrown seven interceptions in the past three games and it goes without saying that he needs to take better care of the football. Don’t expect him to throw 50 times like he did last Sunday against the Falcons.

More focus will likely be placed on establishing the ground game considering three of the offense’s best remaining weapons are in the backfield.

“You know, just look for your continuous next best players and continue to try to get them more touches and more opportunities,” Coen said on how he got guys involved during the last game. “I feel like for the most part we did that. I think we could have done a better job with some other guys and getting them involved and getting them some more touches that have been productive for us in weeks past, but I think at the end of the day we’ve got to continue to put our guys in the best position to be successful, and they’ve got to go play.

“They have to go play and go let it rip. There’s going to be mistakes, but we have to minimize how critical those mistakes are. Are we going to drop a pass? Are we going to miss a block? That stuff is going to happen, but we cannot make critical mistakes.”

Could Sean Tucker And Rakim Jarrett Get More Involved?

Bucs RB Sean Tucker – Photo by: USA Today

Two players who could get more touches and more opportunities on Monday night are Sean Tucker and Rakim Jarrett.

Although Tucker had just two carries for three yards in his last game, he is not far removed from being named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his offensive outburst against the Saints. Getting him more touches could be just the balance the offense needs in taking care of the football while also being able to dial things up.

“Yeah, I mean, I think in general, just getting guys touches that that have made plays for you,” Coen said when asked about getting Tucker more involved. “The game kind of got a little funky in ways, and we had to throw it, and I was ticked at myself for some of those decisions that forced us out of maybe being able to get somebody else get some more runs, get some more runs off, whether that’s Sean, Bucky [Irving], or Rachaad [White] in that moment.”

Another big topic of discussion as the Bucs gear up to face the Chiefs is who the team’s leading wide receiver should be.

Sterling Shepard has the most NFL experience and has worked with Baker Mayfield before. Jalen McMillan is the team’s highest-drafted wide receiver since Chris Godwin in 2017 and showed plenty of promise over the offseason. Trey Palmer has the exciting traits to make game-changing plays.

Bucs WR Rakim Jarrett – Photo by: USA Today

But it was Rakim Jarrett, an undrafted free agent signing last season, who made the biggest impact when called upon.

Jarrett made his presence known in the second half against Atlanta, finishing the game with three receptions for 58 yards. He showed an impressive ability to separate and make contested catches and he is ready to make more plays. Liam Coen wants to see him make the most of his chances.

“Yeah, I mean, ‘Rock’ has been, been working his tail off to get himself into shape and get himself back feeling better,” Coen said. “It was great to see him out there and, to produce and make some plays and be in the right spot at the right time. We’ve got to continue to get that from him – we’ve got to continue to get the most out of all these guys because we’re going to be able to rely on them and have to rely on them for the rest of the season.”