The Buccaneers Offense Hasn't Missed a Beat in 2023

No one would ever confuse Baker Mayfield for Tom Brady. But the Mayfield-led version of the offense in 2023 strangely appears to be a slight upgrade over the Brady-led version from 2022. And Mayfield has been just as, if not more, efficient than Brady was in his final season:

There weren’t dramatic changes made to the skill-player positions either. Both offenses had Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Both had terrible running games that ranked towards the bottom of the league (3.4 yards per carry in both seasons).

Maybe we should give some credit to new offensive coordinator Dave Canales for bringing more balance to the offense. The Buccaneers have thrown the ball on 57.7% of plays this season (17th in the NFL) compared to 67.9% in 2022 (1st in the NFL).

Perhaps we could attribute the improvement to the offensive line, which is less banged up and has had more continuity throughout the season than last year’s group. For instance, only 6 O-linemen have taken more than 10 offensive snaps this year.

I guess we could also give some credit to running back Rachaad White’s late-season emergence as well.

Either way, Baker Mayfield has done more than an adequate job of replacing Tom Brady. The Buccaneers are on the verge of their 3rd straight NFC South division title as a result.