Tampa Bay went into the locker room trailing 17-13 at SoFi Stadium. But there must’ve been something in the halftime snacks because Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers proceeded to devour the Chargers, 27-0, en route to a 40-17 West Coast win.
“We didn’t panic at halftime,” said head coach Todd Bowles, whose club improved to 8-6 and took a solid step toward securing a fourth straight NFC South crown. “We made some mistakes in the first half; we turned it over twice. We understood the assignment and we showed the growth in the second half of the season as a team, how we can come back and not panic in the second half and go out and take the game to them.”
No one wants any part of that game with the NFC playoffs on the horizon. Assuming they can finish at least one game ahead of the Falcons, the Bucs would host a Wild Card team in the first round before going on the road to face either Philadelphia or Detroit. Tampa Bay is 2-0 against those teams.
“I’ll tell you who I’d be afraid of: Baker and the Bucs,” said Colin Cowherd Monday on The Herd. “I would want no part of the Buccaneers. Can’t run on ‘em. Can’t guard Mike Evans. Baker’s playing at his best, a little restless but with house money because nobody thinks they’re going to win. Jason Licht has stacked that roster, the GM, for years one of the best scouts in the league. If I’m Philadelphia … by the way, who was the last team to beat Philly?”
It was Tampa Bay, back on Sept. 29 at Raymond James Stadium. Since, the Eagles have won a franchise-record 10 straight. The Bucs also beat Detroit at Ford Field Sept. 15 and took Kansas City to overtime before losing, 30-24, on Nov. 4.
“They’ve given everybody troubles. What they did to the Chargers yesterday, the No. 1 defense in the league, drop a 40-burger in L.A. That was wow. That was a wow outcome.”
Evans wowed with season bests in catches (nine) and yards (159). Called by some the most underrated wide receiver in NFL history, Evans also registered two touchdowns in the third quarter against a formidable Chargers secondary that had allowed just one touchdown pass over its prior two games.
The Bucs’ veteran reached 150 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions for the seventh time, eclipsing Mark Duper (six) and Hall of Famers Lance Alworth (six) and Bob Hayes (six) the fourth-most such games by a player in his first 11 seasons. Only Jerry Rice (15 games), Don Maynard (eight) and Tyreek Hill (eight, in first nine seasons) have more.
And over Tampa Bay’s four-game winning streak, the Bucs lead the NFL in fewest points allowed (15.0 per game) and red-zone percentage (touchdowns on just 35.7 percent of opponent drives inside the 20-yard line).
The Bucs are on the road in primetime on Sunday night at Dallas before closing the regular season with divisional home games against Carolina and New Orleans. The Chargers (8-6) can quickly flush the loss because they have a short week ahead of the Broncos (9-5) on Thursday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video).
For more information on the Bucs and Chargers, visit the Tampa Bay and L.A. Chargers team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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