Baker Mayfield has done very little to pass the ball, but his presence and leadership have made all the difference.
After missing three straight games with a thumb injury, Mayfield has returned, and the Buccaneers are 2-0. They've been dominant in their wins over the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons, beating them 59-13.
However, it hasn't been because of Mayfield's passing -- it's been because of their rushing attack.
The Buccaneers set a single-game franchise record with 324 rushing yards in the win over the Falcons. In their victory over the Panthers, Tampa Bay ran it for 258 yards. Meanwhile, Mayfield completed just seven pass attempts for 64 yards in the win over the Panthers and had zero completions in the win over the Falcons.
Bucky Irving,
who paced the Buccaneers with 170 rushing yards in the win over the Falcons, detailed how much of a difference Mayfield makes as a leader and how he holds players accountable.
"It's not a specific thing," Irving said after the game, describing Mayfield's impact. "He just brings the juice every day, man. He know when people are down. Like if I'm too quiet or I'm not juiced around, he's gonna say, 'Yo, you need some energy today. Like, what's going on? Pick it up.' So just being able to have that guy around all the time, he's a different breed, bro. I've been around some great quarterbacks. I played with Bo Nix. Played with a couple quarterbacks, but just being able to know he's wired different. He loved the game, and he wants to win. He don't care if he handing it off 20-to-30 times. Long as we get the win, he's always gonna have a smile on his face. He's not a me guy. As long as we come out with the win, he's excited and happy."
After the game, Mayfield made it clear he's happy the Buccaneers won despite throwing the ball only three times.
"It's winning, that's what I think about it," said Mayfield after the game. "We won."
The Buccaneers will likely need to do more than just run the football when they take on the high-powered Chicago Bears in Week 9. The Bears rank seventh on offense and ninth on defense, which means Tampa Bay will likely need to pass the ball efficiently to win.
But for now, the Buccaneers have to feel good knowing they're 2-0 since Mayfield returned to the lineup with the best ground game in the league, paced by Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Bucky Irving on how Baker Mayfield holds Buccaneers players accountable
