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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport Twitter account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to the Bucs Mailbag each week via Twitter using the hashtag #PRMailbag.  Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

QUESTION: Will you call out Baker Mayfield and the offensive coordinator for their performance? Y’all are quick to blame Todd Bowles and the defense for everything.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and Raiders DE Maxx Crosby – Photo by: USA Today

ANSWER: Yes, Baker Mayfield didn’t play well after starting Sunday’s game 9-of-11 for 110 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Mayfield had a QB rating of 147.9 in the first quarter. But then things began to unravel for him. He finished the game 18-of-29 for 295 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, but after the first quarter Mayfield was just 9-of-18 for 185 yards with two interceptions and a fumble – all three of which came in a disastrous second quarter – and then a late-game scoring strike to Jalen McMillan.

After building a 14-0 lead, Mayfield looked very uncomfortable in the pocket and even had trouble scrambling, rushing for 12 yards on two carries and getting sacked four times. The offensive line was decent, but not great in pass protection. It was mainly Mayfield being unable to locate open receivers and appearing spooked after his second quarter screen pass was intercepted. That play seemed to spook him for some reason. Mayfield, who has thrown four combined interceptions in the last two games, took the blame for his poor performance after the game.

“I think, by far, I was probably the worst player on offense, but the guys stepped up when we needed to, and they executed,” Mayfield said.

Todd Bowles’ unit played pretty well in the game, holding a struggling Raiders offense to just 13 points on Sunday. Tampa Bay’s defense has only allowed a total 43 points in three games since the bye week, which is an average of just 14.3 points per game. That’s a far cry from the 31.3 points per game the Bucs defense was surrendering during the team’s four-game losing streak prior to the bye, which caused the team to slump to 4-6 on the year.

While Tampa Bay has not recently played any of the high-powered offenses the defense played earlier in the season like Detroit, Baltimore, Washington or Philadelphia – all Top 10 units – the unit has done what it has needed to do in limiting lesser teams’ scoring. Bowles and the Bucs defenders deserve a lot of credit for that since the bye week.

As for your criticism of Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen, I’ll discuss his role in Sunday’s win in my next answer.

QUESTION: Is Liam Coen out-thinking himself by getting away from the running game for long stretches of games?

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

ANSWER: Bucs offensive coordinator Liam Coen didn’t do Baker Mayfield any favors in the second quarter by only calling four running plays for 19 yards with a 14-0 lead, while dialing up 11 pass plays, which resulted in three sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble. In hindsight, that seems like a mistake given the outcome, right? Tampa Bay had built a two-touchdown lead, so leaning on the running game seemed like the thing to do.

Yet there is also nothing wrong with sticking with what is working either. Mayfield started the the game on fire, hitting nine of his first 11 passes. Heck, he was on pace for 440 yards and eight touchdowns after the first quarter. In my three decades of covering Bucs football, I’ve seen too many offensive coordinators actually help opposing defenses by foolishly going away from what’s working before the defense even stops it.

Mayfield’s first interception was on a screen pass and it was just a wildly athletic play by Raiders edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson. Then he fumbled the ball after getting sacked on a blitz. Mayfield’s worst turnover came when he threw a very ill-advised pass to tight end Cade Otton, who was double-covered in the end zone right before halftime. That cost the Bucs at least three points in what was a 14-10 game at the time.

So Coen probably could have called more runs in the second quarter. But that was also the point in time when Bucky Irving’s back and hip injury were flaring up and the coaching staff was unsure about his availability.

I will say this about Coen. Despite struggles that he and the offense had with penalties and some poor play in the second and third quarters, Tampa Bay still gained 420 yards, including 152 yards on the ground, converted 41.7% on third down and put up four touchdowns and didn’t settle for any field goals. Coen is still a rookie NFL play-caller and he’s learning some lessons each week. Nitpick him if you want, but it’s hard to argue with the final results on Sunday and over the course of the 2024 season, as Tampa Bay ranks fifth in scoring with 27.9 points per game.

QUESTION: Is Trey Palmer in someone’s doghouse or has his role just diminished with fewer downfield shots under Liam Coen?

Bucs WR Trey Palmer – Photo by: USA Today

ANSWER: Yes, Trey Palmer’s role is diminished in Liam Coen’s offense. There really isn’t a big vertical element to Coen’s offense, which kind of negates what Palmer does best, which is go deep with his 4.3 speed. Palmer, the team’s sixth-round pick in 2023, caught 39 passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns during his rookie season when he was the team’s No. 3 receiver last year. But he’s nowhere close to that production this year.

Through 13 games, Palmer has just 10 catches for 141 yards and one touchdown in 2024 and he’s split the No. 3 receiver role with rookie Jalen McMillan this year. Palmer, who did not have a single target in Sunday’s win versus Las Vegas, has been an inconsistent route runner and an inconsistent pass catcher in his two years in Tampa Bay, and I think he ultimately is what he is – a Day 3 wide receiver.

I’d like to see more of a vertical element in Coen’s offense, but it’s hard to argue the results as Tampa Bay is averaging just about 28 points per game, and ranks sixth in passing at 241 yards per game. Baker Mayfield has completed 70% of his passes and has 28 touchdown passes, which is the third-most in the league right now. He’s already matched his career high with four more games to go.

So Coen isn’t going to fix what isn’t necessarily broken, and kind of alluded to that when asked about the lack of deep shots during his press conference on Thursday.

“It doesn’t bother me too much,” Coen said. “I think we have enough ways to get the ball where we want it. Yeah, I’d love to be able to throw it down the field a bunch, [but] it just hasn’t really been quite our M.O. Whether that stays consistent over the next four or five weeks, I’m not sure. I think we could definitely get the ball into some deeper spots, but it’s not really been a huge impact in the system so far.”

QUESTION: Why aren’t we seeing more of Sean Tucker? Every time he plays he produces.

Bucs RB Sean Tucker – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: The answer to this question is quite simple. Sean Tucker isn’t playing more because Bucky Irving and Rachaad White are simply better, more well-rounded backs at this point in time. Irving leads the team with 735 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns while averaging 5.4 yards per carry. The rookie also has 36 catches for 300 yards in the passing game. White stepped up with 90 yards rushing, two catches for 19 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday in the 28-13 win over Las Vegas while Irving was sidelined early with his hip and back injuries.

White has rushed for 509 yards and three touchdowns this year, and his 4.2 yards per carry average is a career best. Perhaps more importantly, he’s the Bucs’ best receiving back with 41 receptions for 322 yards and five scores. And White is clearly the best back in terms of pass protection due to his 6-foot-1, 225-pound frame and his want-to as a blocker.

As for Tucker, he made the most of his three carries against the Raiders with 47 yards, including an explosive, 34-yard jaunt. In limited action, Tucker has rushed for 236 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 7.2 yards per carry. A rushing average like makes all of us wonder how many yards Tucker can pick up with more attempts, right?

But when a player is the third-string running back he needs to do everything right to continue to earn the trust of the coaching staff. Tucker had a drop on Sunday, and he fumbled the ball at the goal line at New York. Those little things keep him relegated to the No. 3 running back role, unfortunately. Yet offensive coordinator Liam Coen does trust him enough to use him sparingly. Tucker needs to just play perfect football when he’s in the game for his limited amount of touches and he’ll earn more carries and catches in the future.

QUESTION: As bad as the defense was vs. the Raiders, I want to be fair to Todd Bowles. How much of yesterday was because we really did have no one to play at times on defense? We were the “Duct Tape-aneers” more than the Buccaneers.  Moreover even as Tampa Bay’s defense struggled vs. Carolina, so did Philadelphia and Kansas City.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ANSWER: Bucs head coach Todd Bowles does deserve a lot of credit for having to deal with the myriad of injuries the defense has had to deal with this year. It’s actually been ridiculous, especially in the secondary. Every single starter except for Zyon McCollum has missed at least two games due to injury so far. The safety position has been ravaged with injuries as Antoine Winfield Jr. missed four games with a foot injury and now has an injured knee. Jordan Whitehead is on injured reserve with a pectoral injury, and his replacement, Mike Edwards, is out with a hamstring injury.

As it stands right now, Christian Izien and Kaevon Merriweather will start at Los Angeles against the Chargers next week with practice squad safety Ryan Neal likely getting elevated as a reserve. Thankfully Tykee Smith was able to return on Sunday against Las Vegas after missing the last three games with a knee injury.

When healthy – or at least healthier – Tampa Bay’s defense has played a big role in helping the team beat the likes of Washington, Detroit and Philadelphia. Each of those teams are in the Top 8 in scoring and average at least 26 points per game. The Commanders were held to 20 points, the Lions scored just 16 against the Bucs, and Bowles’ unit held the Eagles to just 14 of the 16 points that Philly scored.

Despite being without Whitehead, Edwards, linebackers K.J. Britt and J.J. Russell and outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka on Sunday, and Winfield for a majority of the game, Bowles’ defense held the Raiders to just 13 points. That’s quite a feat using reserve players and some duct tape to get the job done.