Buccaneers and Mayfield will be tested after losing Godwin and Evans

TAMPA, Fla. – If there's ever a time to test Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield's skills, it's now. Over the last two seasons, the former No. 1 pick has created one of the NFL's best redemption arcs in recent memory.

The 29-year-old Mayfield found his home in Tampa, led the Bucs to the division title in 2023 and led the NFL in Week 9 with 21 touchdown passes and 23 total touchdowns.

But in the midst of the most difficult stretch of their season, the Bucs (4-4) have lost three of their last four games and face what Mayfield called a “critical game” against the Kansas City Chiefs – the league's last undefeated team Monday (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC). And they will be without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, who are among the franchise's top performers.

Mayfield didn't mince his words the night both were injured in Week 7. He had already gone into the training room to comfort her before telling reporters: “This absolutely sucks.”

Still, Mayfield is determined to make this a success. You could see it on his face as he spent most of the post-match press conference in despair and disbelief. And then his voice grew louder, as if he had suddenly made up his mind.

“There’s no other way to get around it,” Mayfield said. “(We) need to face this thing and address it head on.”

The injuries to Godwin and Evans occurred all at once while the Baltimore Ravens were on “Monday Night Football.” Godwin suffered a dislocated left ankle and underwent surgery last week with a glimmer of hope that he could return in the postseason.

“That was really hard. That was hard to see,” said left tackle Tristan Wirfs. “We love her more than anything. …Our hearts are broken for him. But we have to keep going.”

Evans suffered what coach Todd Bowles called a “moderate” hamstring strain and is expected back after the bye in Week 11 – a schedule that Evans and the team said is on track.

“We have to come together as a team, and obviously in an environment like we have on a Monday night in Kansas City, we know what we're going to get,” Mayfield said. “It’s about execution, doing the little things right, playing the field position game and seeing what happens. We have the veterans, we have the leadership that we need to make this thing work and that's — (the) season isn't over yet. We” “I’m not even halfway done yet.”

THE BUCS ARE 1-4 since 2017 in games in which neither Evans nor Godwin played, a worrying trend for a team competing for a fourth straight title. They're also trying to advance past the divisional round of the playoffs, something they haven't done since their Super Bowl season in 2020. The team has been talking about this all summer. That's also something Mayfield hasn't accomplished in his career.

They could count on a late-season push like they did last season, but they got help from a weak NFC South and a tiebreaker over the New Orleans Saints. It doesn't help that they've already been defeated by the division-leading Atlanta Falcons.

“It was tough, but we got through it,” Wirfs said of last season. “We could have easily said, 'Yeah, the season is over.' But we didn't do that. We came together, fought back, fought and prevailed in the playoffs.”

Rookie center Graham Barton said he is leaning on the veterans and what they learned from last season and previous years.

“This is a resilient group,” Barton said. “We’ll just put our heads down and get back to work. That's all we know. That’s all we’re going to do.”

As of Tuesday's trade deadline, there were no improvements for Mayfield on the offensive side as the Bucs remained loyal to the young players on their roster.

In last week's 31-26 loss to the Falcons, Mayfield relied heavily on screens and the ground game with his running backs. Bucky Irving, Rachaad White and Sean Tucker combined to catch 13 passes for 90 receptions and a touchdown by White, while the group – which included a 17-yard pickup from rookie receiver Jalen McMillan – rushed for 93 yards.

Tight end Cade Otton filled the gap in the passing game. In Week 8, he caught nine of ten targets for 81 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Mayfield will likely rely on Otton again this week, as the Chiefs' 80.86 yards thrown to opposing tight ends is the most of any team in the league entering this week.

“When we have Mike and Chris out there, the offense just looks different,” Mayfield said. “They’re making plans for these guys. And Cade does a lot of the dirty work, and so Cade gets to showcase his physical talent right now, and he's such a smart football player, a selfless guy. …You” I see him being successful because of that.

Offensive coordinator Liam Coen said Mayfield “handled it really well,” he said.

“I mean, if you look at him, he throws an out-cut to Cade as a single receiver on third down – we hadn't done that much this year; “It wasn't something we really set out to do,” Coen said. “We used to have those routes there, but that wasn't really part of our thought process, but he just goes and takes it.”

The Bucs also received second-half contributions from receiver Rakim Jarrett, who had three catches for 58 yards in his season debut after being sidelined by offseason knee surgery. In his return, he showed that he can be a real threat downfield for Mayfield.

“We’re not just replacements for Mike and Chris – we’re also NFL players trying to make a name for ourselves,” Jarrett said. “Obviously we’re not going to fill the roles that Mike and CG did – but I think we have playmakers that people just haven’t heard of.”

“That’s probably why people are saying what they’re saying about us right now, so we just have to go out there and continue to prove them wrong.”

Like Mayfield, Jarrett thrives on adversity.

“I didn’t get drafted,” Jarrett said. “It was 250 picks and I wasn't one, so I look at it like I'm in the NFL, I'm being counted out, so we just take it day by day and go out there and do our job.”

And McMillan, one of the Bucs' two third-round draft picks this year, is trying to continue to rise after a quiet start that included missing two games with a hamstring strain. He now catches 150-160 passes on a Jugs machine every day after practice, a routine Godwin gave him.

In the second quarter, he was completely unaware of what would have been a touchdown because the Falcons had broken coverage. McMillan said it was his mistake.

“That was my fault,” McMillan said. “I ran this route away from steps. I should go way out there. I can’t wait to get the next rep on this play.”

MAYFIELD'S INTERCEPTION NUMBERS have increased as he is tied for the most goals in Week 9 with Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs and Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers tied with nine players.

“There's always a fine line between aggression and protecting the football, and when you have your shots you have to take advantage of them,” Mayfield said. “But if they're not there, do the same thing, check, get off the play, move on to the next play and live to play another play.”

“It's getting on my nerves. I don't want to turn the ball over. For me, this is a blow for our entire team.”

In addition to the losses of Evans and Godwin, Mayfield is under more pressure due to the defense's recent struggles. After starting the season 3-1 and not allowing any opponent to score more than 26 points in a game, the Bucs have given up 27 or more points in each of their last four games.

“We're making progress, and we can make 62 good plays and five bad plays and it goes haywire,” Bowles said. “We have to cut out the bad plays. We understand that. We work on it every day. If you cut out the bad plays and play the rest of the game, we'll be fine. We just have to cut out the bad ones.”

At their worst last season, the Bucs were 4-7. They have won five of their last six games. Evans had four touchdowns in those games and he and Godwin combined for 823 receiving yards.

Mayfield crossed the finish line with badly bruised ribs before advancing to the playoffs with a 32-9 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bucs lost 31-23 to the Detroit Lions in the divisional round. In those two postseason games, Evans had 195 receiving yards, Godwin had 85 and Otton added 154, with all three scoring touchdowns.

Of course, they have to get there first if they want to try to repeat or surpass that, although the chances of that happening are greater. But they are all ready to rally around their leader and each other.

“We all have a choice to make when disaster strikes – either we fail or we unite and do everything we can to get through it,” Otton said. “I think the guys on this team – be it in life or football – are no strangers to adversity. We have to be ready to face them and work hard at them – that's the only way. I know we will do it.” do it.”