TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — With first place on the line in the NFC South, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking for some young players to grow up fast against the Atlanta Falcons.
The three-time defending division champions lost star receivers Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (ankle) to injuries during their 41-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens last Monday night.
Baker Mayfield jumpstarted a stalled career with a lot of help from the team’s top playmakers. Now, the NFL's leader in touchdown passes will have to find a way to win without them.
That means counting on a rejuvenated running game to ease some of the burden on Mayfield and giving a mostly young, unproven group of receivers a chance to make names for themselves.
“It’s going to look different, but that’s OK. And you know what, it’ll be a little bit more creative, and we’ll have some fun with it,” Mayfield said.
“You never know what you can do until you find out what you don’t have. Coach (Bill) Parcells always said that,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles chimed. “Coaches have to do more, players have to do more, and you have to be more creative. We’re putting our heads down to work, and we’ll get it done.”
Running backs Rachaad White, Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker are eager to help. The trio have combined to help the Bucs rush for an average of 168.4 yards per game since Week 4.
Rookie Jalen McMillan, second-year pro Trey Palmer and former New York Giants receiver Sterling Shepard will have an opportunity to help Mayfield keep the passing game on track.
Godwin, who’s out for the season after dislocating his left ankle, leads the NFL in receptions (50) and is second in yards receiving (576).
Evans, who'll miss at least three games with a hamstring injury, teamed with Godwin to catch 11 of Mayfield’s league-leading 18 TD passes. Evans shares the lead in TD receptions with six and Godwin is tied for third with five.
“They’re pros, just like everyone else in the National Football League, so they’re definitely going to have the next-man-up mentality,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said.
“We’ve seen injuries in this league for such a long time, and you’ve seen guys go out there and step up and win football games,” Morris added. “I mean, I’ve been able to do it myself. We’ve been able to do it here in Atlanta.”
The Falcons (4-3) and Bucs (4-3) are facing each other for the second time in less than a month. Atlanta won the earlier meeting at home 36-30 in overtime, with Kirk Cousins throwing for a career-best 509 yards with four TDs.
With his Falcons trailing Seattle 17-7 at halftime of last week’s 34-14 loss, Morris said his players needed to wake up. He wants them to take that message into Sunday's game against Tampa Bay.
“I hope so. You know, that’s the things we want to talk about, right?” Morris said. “There’s not a loss in this game that I’ve ever had that hasn’t been a lesson. And I think we’ve all got to take that into consideration. I think you go out those type of games and it’s a little bit flat from our standpoint, from everything you like. We've got to come out ready to go. You know, they were clearly the fresher team. They wanted to a little bit more than us and they got the win.”
Morris said that following Atlanta’s three consecutive wins over NFC South rivals “a little bit of complacency can set in” adding “these guys are hungry” following the lopsided loss.
“It’s nice to reset and really go out there and play our game,” Morris added.
Falcons rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. made his debut late in last week’s loss to Seattle and completed his only pass for 14 yards to Casey Washington.
There wasn’t a lot for Morris to review when asked about the first-round draft pick.
“Went out there and threw one pass that was complete and handed the ball off in a very angry fashion,” Morris said. “Then got the hell out of dodge.”
Morris added he believes Penix is “stage ready” for a bigger role, if needed.
For all the speculation about how Tampa Bay's offense will fare without Evans and Godwin, Bowles noted the team’s defense also needs to play better.
The Bucs yielded 508 yards to the Ravens last week, with Lamar Jackson producing points on seven of nine offensive possessions.
“We need more from the defense, week in and week out, regardless of who’s playing on offense,” Bowles said.
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AP Sports Writers Paul Newberry and Charles Odum contributed to this report.
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