The Bucs offense came roaring to life in Week 15 in a 34-20 upset at Green Bay. And just in time for a big conference road game that had lots of playoff implications. Tampa Bay scored 34 points and could have gone over the 40-mark if running back Rachaad White had chosen to score on his 22-yard run that ultimately iced the game. The offense was firing on all cylinders, as for the first time all season offensive coordinator Dave Canales, quarterback Baker Mayfield, and the weaponry and run game were truly working with each other.

The results of that synergy show what the Bucs offense can be at its best, which is damn good. The Bucs’ 0.379 EPA/play mark was second-best in the NFL that week, behind only the juggernaut offense that is the San Francisco 49ers. How did they pull it off?

Well, the Bucs’ passing game was on another level against the Packers. And who deserves the credit for the heater? A little should be given all-around. Bucs fans should thank Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry. He is the gift that keeps on giving to NFL offenses the league-over.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield was operating on an other-worldly level on the day, completing 22-of-28 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns. while recording his best grade from Pro Football Focus all year (91.1). He layered some beautiful balls and hit some tight window throws that showed just what he is capable of at his highest end of play.

The concepts were awesome, but Baker was on one. Hitting the seam against C2 between the pole-runner and the underneath the deep safety. Neat-o. pic.twitter.com/Ghn60eF4OS

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) December 19, 2023

But some credit is also due to rookie offensive coordinator Dave Canales. He had Tampa Bay’s offense rolling with creative play-designs called in great situations throughout most of the game. I thought it would be fun to look at three such plays that stood out to me.

Creating A Tendency and Breaking That Tendency

Dave Canales has been committed to the run game all year long. He wants to run early and has been working to improve a Bucs’ ground attack that struggled for most of the year. But recently that run game has been improving. Here is a graphical representation of those improvements showing their rank in rush EPA/play over the course of the season.

Canales continued that trend against the Packers. Early in the fourth quarter the Bucs had a first-and-10 near midfield. Up to that point they had run on first down two thirds of the time. They had previously run twice out of pistol on two of the previous three plays.

So, when they came out in pistol on first down on the following play Green Bay was primed and ready to stop the run. Canales took full advantage with a play-action rollout with Mayfield finding Chris Godwin wide open for an explosive play.

A few key notes here.
1. It’s 1-10. Bucs had run on 1d on 4 of 6 opps leading into this.
2. They had run from Pistol on 2 of past 3.
3. Evans sucks up the safety who could have cut the cross. pic.twitter.com/FjvkRVlclj

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) December 18, 2023

As I stated in the tweet, Mike Evans draws double coverage in the form of the deep safety who gets sucked up into his vertical release, leaving the underneath open for Chris Godwin on the intermediate cross plus the yards after catch. This play was a combination of several staples Canales has been establishing all year: Play-action and intermediate crosses. But it was truly unlocked by Canales setting it up with the run tendencies he established early.

Using Motion To Create Havoc

Up by just three points early in the second half the Bucs were driving into Packers territory. That’s when Dave Canales dialed up something he hasn’t used all season.

The return motion for DT widens the safety to give White the inside release. Otton’s route works as a natural pick for the Mike and the rest is history. BUT if Baker wanted he could have gotten a 1st down with Otton or scored w/Moore. It really was dealer’s choice. pic.twitter.com/95O0dJ98S3

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) December 19, 2023

Rachaad White is a top-three receiving back in the NFL and anytime Canales can get him out into space is usually going to be an advantage for Tampa Bay. This play showed that and more as it was one of the first times all season Canales drew up a more vertical route for the young halfback.

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: USA Today

The entire play is set in motion by wide receiver Deven Thompkins. Thompkins uses an orbit motion (running behind the quarterback), but just as he gets behind the shotgun he stops and runs back to the field side of the formation. This is called a return motion.

As he starts his return, he is able to widen the box safety. This is aided by the pump fake from Baker Mayfield to a bluffed screen to Thompkins. The fake sucks up multiple defenders down to the line of scrimmage and gives White a free release inside of the box safety. It would leave only the Mike backer as a possible impediment.

No worry though as Cade Otton is able to box out the linebacker naturally by way of his route over the middle. All of this gives Mayfield an easy read to find White with room to wiggle past the deep safety for a score. This design had the Packers defense in a blender with multiple receiving options wide open for chunk gains or possible touchdowns.

Dave Canales Deployed “Beaters” At The Right Times

Certain route combinations are designed to “beat” certain defensive coverages while they aren’t great for others. As an example, the original play I included at the top of this article featuring a great throw by Baker Mayfield wasn’t a great concept against that Cover 2 defense.

A seam route there has the receiver running into the teeth of the defense in the middle of no-man’s land between the pole-running mike backer, a hook curl from the star defender and a safety over the top. That’s what makes that throw so awesome is that Baker was able to rip it into a tight window that the defense would dissuade usually.

A good offensive coordinator tries to limit those as it lowers the probability of good outcomes for the offense. Instead, the goal of the offensive coordinator is to try and determine what coverage the defense is about to roll out and then call a play that naturally puts that coverage in conflict. Here’s an example.

Great concept vs man. mesh underneath with Deep digs behind the Y Cross. Had Evans release on the deeper route from 3 rather than 2 to create extra confusion. Boundary safety sits on 14’s cross leaving a ton of space behind him for 13 to work with leverage. pic.twitter.com/Qy75EaVmqz

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) December 19, 2023

This play call from Dave Canales is designed to beat man coverage and that’s exactly what the Packer’s defense is in. Underneath Trey Palmer works a drive route from the single-receiver side, drawing his cornerback with him. The Bucs release Chris Godwin from the concept side on a slightly deeper ‘Y-Cross’ to intersect with Palmer’s route and create congestion for both of their defenders.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: USA Today

The safety to Palmer’s side sees Godwin running the cross and immediately comes down to meet the route or cut it. Mike Evans, lined up in the slot to the concept side releases vertically, creating even more traffic for Godwin’s defender to have to navigate through. Being the prolific deep threat that he is, Evans’ vertical pushes the deep safety eyeing him 24 yards off the line of scrimmage.

Once Evans gets about 18 yards downfield, he stems to a deep dig route into the area of the field that the cutting safety has vacated. The result is yet another chunk gain. These routes all create stress on man coverage because each of them has the receiver running away from his primary defender and forces defenders to cover receivers across both a vertical AND a horizontal plane.

This was easily the best performance of the year for the Bucs offense and will serve as a proof of concept for Dave Canales’ system for years to come. And if he can continue to dial up creative concepts like these, he is going to be able to simplify things for Baker Mayfield and his receivers, allowing all of them to play faster. Layer in some high-end throws from Mayfield and you have the makings of a Top 10 offense.