The Bucs head into Sunday afternoon looking to right their wrongs and get back on track against the Saints, but the team does have some positive momentum on the offensive side of the football to continue building off of.

In Week 4, Tampa Bay put up 33 points and 445 total yards of offense on the Eagles. Although it was a tough loss in Week 5 against the Falcons, it did not stop quarterback Baker Mayfield from completing 79.2% of his passes and throwing three touchdowns.

Offensive coordinator Liam Coen has gotten the most out of Mayfield this season and the results have been fruitful. With the unit’s next test coming against an always-tough Saints’ defense, both leaders of the Bucs’ offense discussed the challenges of creating a gameplan to keep the ball rolling.

Baker Mayfield: The Saints Are “Just An Aggressive Team”

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Speaking to the media this week, Baker Mayfield went over the challenges of playing the Saints’ defense, beginning with all of the talent they have on that side of the ball.

“Obviously, Demario Davis [just] with the amount of experience he has, he is able to recognize things very quickly, he [is] obviously a very physical player when it comes to the run game and in play-action he adds on quickly to try and make you get the ball out,” Mayfield said. “He might not exactly be blitzing on some of these plays, but he recognizes it and forces you to get the ball out.

“I think Pete Werner is a very, very good player, as well. Those two side by side are a very good linebacker duo. They kind of play off of each other… That makes it really tough over the middle of the [field] when they’re able to play the way they do. Then, obviously, Tyrann Mathieu has seen a lot of ball, as well – just pattern recognition and going from there. Then you’ve got Marshon Lattimore who is a physical guy, as well.”

Of note, Mayfield did not even mention the team’s top pass-rushers. Second-year defensive tackle Bryan Bresee has four sacks, nickel cornerback Alontae Taylor has 3.5 sacks and defensive end Carl Granderson has three sacks.

With talent at each level, it comes as little surprise that New Orleans has been successful in preventing opponents from putting points on the scoreboard. They rank eighth in the league in scoring defense, allowing just 19.2 points per game.

“[It’s] just an aggressive team,” Mayfield added. “They have some of their key leaders that are always down there, aggressive and physical down there in tight spots. [They have] guys that understand concepts. They’re able to react and close some of these windows with the pass game quickly, or just [be] physical up front, not really letting you get off the ball and establish that line of scrimmage. So, for us, it’s really, really about the details when it comes down to the redzone offense. It’s going to be a tough ballgame when it comes down to that area of the field, but we have to find a way to execute.”

Liam Coen: “Getting Off To Another Fast Start Is Really Important For Us”

When the Bucs get off to fast starts, it vastly opens the game up. While it creates an early advantage that helps both sides of the ball, it especially helps head coach Todd Bowles amp up his creativity on the defensive side of the ball. Looking at the Saints’ defense, Liam Coen knows they have to be expecting the unexpected.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“They’ve got playmakers,” Coen said. “When they get their hands on balls, and they get the thing out, they’ve done a great job over the years of creating some turnovers and making plays. We’ve got to continue to try and get Mike [Evans] involved early, understanding that matchup and the success of our offense as he goes is a lot of times as we go. They are very gameplan specific for each team, whether they’re going to play a lot of man [coverage] this week, or a lot of three-deep [coverage], or play their [Tampa-2] looks – we’ve got to have a great plan of being able to adjust in-game to how they’re going to play us.

“They also play a bunch of different front structures – under, over, jam. You don’t really have a great tell of what they’re going to do, so getting off to another fast start is really important for us to continue to have success early, get our guys into a rhythm, get everybody some touches early and figure out, ‘OK, once we get into the game, what is the best way to attack these guys, especially in the run game and also in the pass game, as well?’”

The Bucs are playing for a lot this week.

Not only are coming off a tough divisional loss, but they are also playing for the city of Tampa which was recently hit hard by Hurricane Milton. A big offensive day will go a long way to getting back on track and rounding into mid-season form before a tough stretch of facing playoff-contending teams.