The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, 40-17, on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, and the starkest description of how the visitors ran away with a game that was very close at halftime is the Buccaneers' run of 30 straight points to end the game. There were many reasons for that dominant second half, but here's one that, shy of that scoring imbalance, explains it the best: Tampa Bay out-rushed the Chargers by 190 yards. That included a 150-yard edge after halftime.
Jim Harbaugh's team prides itself on playing a physical brand of football and winning in the trenches. Coming into Sunday's Week 15 contest, the Chargers were rushing for 111.5 yards per game (the recent JK Dobbins injury has bit into that production some) and allowing 117.6 per game. Against the Buccaneers they ran for 32 yards and were battered by Tampa Bay's red-hot rushing attack for 222.
"That's a physical football team," said quarterback Baker Mayfield, who threw four touchdown passes in the win. "That's what they pride themselves on, is rushing the ball and being physical. So to flip the script on that is huge for us."
The Buccaneers' outcomes during their current four-game win streak have one major thing in common. They have rushed for at least 150 yards in all four. That's the first time the Bucs have put together a streak that long in the franchise's 49-season history. And it seems to be getting better by the week.
"[We're] just trying to build, continue to get better and better on offense," said Mayfield. "Obviously, we'd love to not turn the ball over; love to have those back. But for us to continue to move the ball, whoever it is, and just to execute…we had a great plan going into it and guys executed. To just continue to build that confidence is huge for us in the final stretch of the season."
When rookie sensation Bucky Irving left the Bucs' Week 14 game after just four carries due to a back injury, third-year man Rachaad White stepped up with 109 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. Irving returned on Sunday and the two backs proved to be a perfect tandem. Each carried 15 times, with Irving ringing up 117 yards and White adding 64. Irving's 54-yard run in the third quarter set up one of Chase McLaughlin's four field goals in the offensive onslaught.
The Bucs finished with 505 total yards and got contributions from a wide variety of players. They also mixed things up on offense; coordinator Liam Coen came into the season expecting to lean heavily on 11 personnel (three receivers) but injuries have forced him to adjust and the Bucs are now finding ways to move the ball out of two-back, two-tight end and even three-tight end packages. It's difficult for the opposition to know what to expect in any particular game.
"I can only imagine for a defensive coordinator what it's like to scheme against us, because of the personnel changes – 13 personnel, 21, 11," said Mayfield. "How do you defend that? We have a lot of plays we can run out of the same formation. It's hard to defend that. It just depends on our guys knowing the plan and executing it."
