The Bucs found a way to snag another win, even after special teams tried their best to give it away. Good teams find a way to win, and with Baker Mayfield leading the charge, you always have a chance!
Despite the 2-0 start, there's always something to rant about. And a rant doesn’t have to be a bad thing—sometimes it can be about good things. So here’s a good one!
Kudos to Offensive Coordinator Josh Grizzard for calling a clean game. Last week, in my article “Bucs Win If/Texans Win If,” I urged him to throw the ball on the first drive. Well, he did just that—throwing on first down, second down, and even third and short. He was aggressive early and caught the Texans off guard with play action passes and screen passes.
He didn’t play for third down, and Baker and the offense rewarded him with a touchdown on that opening drive. On the second touchdown drive, we mixed in more runs, even utilized jet sweeps, but more importantly continued to throw the ball when the Texans weren’t expecting it. By the time Luke Goedeke re-injured his foot, we were scoring a touchdown on a screen pass to Emeka Egbuka, taking a 14-10 lead.
At this point, our defense was starting to find its rhythm after a shaky start. They held firm and kept us in the game as we entered the second half. However, the injuries on our offensive line were becoming apparent, forcing us primarily to rely on the run game. Any pass that wasn’t a screen or quick hitch put Baker in danger, with Texans' defenders bearing down on him.
But as we know, you can’t rely solely on your defense in the NFL; eventually, your opponent will score. Grizzard recognized this and began to attack before the Texans found the end zone. Late in the third quarter, after playing it safe for a while, he took two deep shots to Evans—one for 25 yards down the right sideline and another down the left. While the second pass wasn’t completed, it did its job and opened up running lanes for Rachaad White, who then rattled off consecutive runs up the middle. Unfortunately, kicker Chase McLaughlin missed a short field goal at the end of that drive, because the momentum was starting to swing back our way again.
After a chaotic fourth quarter, largely due to our struggling special teams—including a blocked punt and a long return—we found ourselves down 19-14 with just over 2 minutes left. The offensive line was being pushed around, but with Baker Mayfield and Grizzard, they managed to get us into the end zone and take the lead with just 6 seconds remaining.
Grizzard called a fantastic game, especially given the circumstances. He demonstrated his willingness to open up the run game with early passes while also playing it safe when necessary.
Now, if only we can get a defensive stop on our opponent's first drive and keep our punt team off the field completely, we’ll be in great shape moving forward!
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Big thank you to the Bucs for the picture!