Winning naturally breeds praise and attention and the Bucs have been getting that in droves after coming out victorious for the third week in a row. With a budding offense coming off their best performance of the season, offensive coordinator Dave Canales and quarterback Baker Mayfield have been at the forefront of national praise from many different media vehicles.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and OC Dave Canales – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs had their best offensive game of the season when they defeated the Packers 34-20 on Sunday. It wasn’t their highest scoring game as they dropped 37 in a Week 9 loss to the Texans, but this Week 15 performance was by far their most consistent of the year.

Outside of an early turnover and one punt in the game, the Bucs continuously pushed the ball and put points on the board on every drive.

Tampa Bay was able to keep Green Bay at arms length even when the Packers would try to make a comeback and shorten the Bucs’ lead to a one possession game. Each time the Bucs answered with a score of their own to put the game out of reach.

Let’s also remember that the offense manufactured all of these points. They weren’t helped by the defense creating a turnover early and setting them up with great field position. It was all done on their own as Baker Mayfield had a season best 381 passing yards, four touchdowns and a perfect passer rating of 158.3.

Dave Canales Is Put On The Radar

As much praise as Baker Mayfield deserves, and will get to him in a bit, Dave Canales should get the same amount. As a first year play caller, this was without a doubt his best game as offensive coordinator. Canales was on one mixing in the run and the pass, scheming players wide open and getting chunk plays that Bucs fans have desired for. His game plan caught notice of many, including ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky, who gave him credit before the game was even done.

Ever the positive and upbeat guy, Dave Canales threw all the praise after the game back onto Baker Mayfield.

The national media wasn’t done talking about Dave Canales, though. The next day on NFL Insiders, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo went further into the background of Canales. They discussed how he took a chance to go to a place he’d never been to before in a role he’d never had before.

It was a risk considering the struggles and the change but right now it’s paid off for Canales and may only lead to bigger and better things next.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Everybody Wants Some Baker Mayfield

Not to be overlooked by his offensive coordinator, you couldn’t go on social media without someone talking about Baker Mayfield if you tried. Whether you like it or not, Baker Mayfield is a lightning rod of attention that grows even larger when he and the Bucs plays well.

Remember when Tampa Bay started out 3-1 and Mayfield was the guest picker on College Gameday for Oklahoma vs. Texas when the Bucs had a bye? Do you think Mayfield gets the call if Tampa Bay didn’t start off hot? Well, it’s coming up again and that’s a good thing for the Bucs.

Tampa Bay has been a team that doesn’t really get a lot of national attention unless Tom Brady joins their team. With Mayfield’s arrival, his brought that attention again, especially after many doubted the Bucs before the season.

Orlovsky was at it again with the Bucs, this time talking about the journey that Mayfield’s been on.

There was also Kay Adams giving props to Mayfield on her show Up & Adams for his performance at Lambeau field. She called it a clutch performance saying “Atta boy!” for what he did.

Big Cat and PFT Commenter over at Pardon My Take had a discussion on their show about if Baker Mayfield is possibly the most underrated quarterback in the league. At least one thing that’s for sure is Mayfield is the best quarterback in the NFC South.

And last but not least we have Pat McAfee also singing the praises of what Mayfield has done this season. McAfee, which Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds has been on his show before, has a big time audience in the country so when he’s talking about the Bucs, that attention goes across the nation.

For a team that at one point had lost six of seven, who would’ve thought that the Bucs would be the talk of the town? At 7-7 with three games to go, their fate is not decided yet. Win out and they’ll have a crazy amount of momentum heading into the playoffs as a division winner. Lose out and Mayfield, Canales and head coach may not be here next year.

Making the postseason by winning at least one or two more games will leave a lot of intrigue moving forward but it’s a storyline that more are paying attention to than ever before.