Last January, many Bucs fans were upset that division rival Carolina swooped in on Tampa Bay and usurped offensive coordinator Dave Canales to become the Panthers’ head coach. After all, the Bucks won five of the final six games of the 2023 season and scored 30 of 32 points in a blowout win over the Eagles in the wild-card round.
Canales didn’t have a perfect first year as a play-caller at either the college or pro level, but he’s a big step up from Byron Leftwich’s disastrous season as offensive coordinator in 2022.
Well, no one in Tampa Bay misses Canales now.
His replacement, Liam Cohen, proved a huge upgrade over Canales in his first year as a play-caller at the NFL level.
In just one year, Cohen has elevated the Bucs’ offense from a good team to an outstanding team, and he’s proven to turn Tampa Bay into an offensive powerhouse in 2024. Demolished Los Angeles Chargers 40-17 And his defense ranks No. 1 in the league in points. Before kickoff, LA was giving up just 15.9 points per game.
That was before Cohen returned to L.A., where he spent years under the tutelage of Rams head coach and offensive wizard Sean McVay, and took over SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
Bucks OC Liam Cohen – Photo by Jeffrey Jones/PR
The Bucs finished Sunday with the NFL’s fifth-ranked scoring offense (27.9 PPG), third-best mark in total offense (379.2 yards per game), sixth-best passing offense (241.0 yards per game), and eighth-ranked mark. I attended the game. Ranked in rushing offense (138.3 yards per game).
Tampa Bay scored 40 points against LA and had 506 yards of total offense without punting. Led by Bucky Irving’s 117 yards, the Bucs ran for 223 yards and went 9-of-15 (60%) on third down. Baker Mayfield was 22-of-27 for 288 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, and Mike Evans led all receivers with nine receptions for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
So on Sunday, the Bucs were above average in points, total yards, passing yards and rushing yards, and Cohen’s unit is expected to continue climbing near the top of the NFL rankings on Monday.
Here’s a look at some of the offensive output and top-shelf products from the Bucs’ four-game winning streak, courtesy of a press release from the Buccaneers’ communications department.
Liam Cohen’s Bucks offense continues to dominate the league
Bucs WR Jalen McMillan – Photo by Jeffrey Jones/PR
•The Buccaneers had 506 yards of offense in the win. This is the team’s second-highest season total and the 16th-highest in team history. They had eight 400-yard games this season and were the only team out of three with one win. Multiple 500 yard performances. Tampa Bay has now recorded four straight games with over 400 yards of offense and 150 yards rushing. This is the longest streak in franchise history and the second-longest in the NFL this season (Baltimore – 5 games).
• Tampa Bay’s offense has allowed the most points (40), most total yards (506), most rushing yards (223) and second-most passing yards (283) against the Chargers’ defense this season. Ta. The Buccaneers offense also became the first to score on each of its first two possessions against the Chargers defense in 2024. The Buccaneers did not punt on Sunday and scored on nine of 12 possessions in the game, including their previous six straight possessions, which ended on their final drive.
• The Buccaneers had 223 yards rushing in this game, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. This is his 11th 100-yard rushing performance in 14 games this season and the third time he has rushed for at least 200 yards. After finishing 32nd in the NFL in rushing over the past two seasons, Tampa Bay currently ranks fourth in rushing yards per game (144.4) and second in yards per rushing attempt (5.2).
Bucky Irving had his second 100-yard rushing performance of the season with 117 yards on 15 carries. He leads all rookies in both scrimmage yards and rushing yards this season. Irving had 1,148 yards from scrimmage and 852 rushing yards.
Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans skyrocket to the NFL, Bucks Record Books
Bucks QB Baker Mayfield – Photo courtesy of USA Today
• baker mayfield It marked the seventh regular season game of his career with four or more touchdown passes, including four performances in Tampa Bay. Mayfield, who made his 100th career start today (162), joins Peyton Manning (178), Matthew Stafford (178) and Andrew Luck in their first 100 starts. He was one of six quarterbacks selected No. 1 overall with over 150 touchdown passes. (171), Carson Palmer (160), and Jared Goff (155).
●Mayfield’s 32 touchdown passes this season set a career high and currently ranks third in the NFL this season. He is currently throwing the fourth-most single-season touchdown passes in franchise history (32). His seven games with three or more touchdown passes this season are second most in the NFL behind Joe Burrow (eight). Adding in his three rushing scores, Mayfield totaled 35 TDs with three games remaining this season. Tom Brady holds the single-season franchise record with 43 touchdown passes in 2021.
Bucks WR Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan – Photo courtesy of USA Today
• Mike Evans set season highs with nine receptions and 159 yards receiving, including a 57-yard touchdown reception. He officially ranks among the top 25 in NFL history in receiving yards, surpassing Jimmy Smith (12,287) and Antonio Brown (12,291) to rank 25th all-time in receiving yards. Evans passed Roddy White (808) for the 40th most receptions in league history.
• The Buccaneers improved to 8-3 this season with Evans and 8-1 in games in which Evans had five or more targets. Evans has 52 receptions for 749 yards and nine touchdowns this season. His nine touchdown receptions are the fourth-most in the NFL this season. He currently needs 251 receiving yards (83.7 yards per game) and eight receptions to continue his streak of 1,000 yards and 60 catches (10 seasons). Evans had 100 or more receiving yards in his 38th career regular season game, and his 14th career regular season game with 150 or more receiving yards, trailing only active players Tyreek Hill (16 yards). It came in second place after .
