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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Bucs' Offense Dominating on Third Down

Data Crunch: Through eight games of the 2024 season, the Buccaneers' offense is the best in the NFL and the best it has been in franchise history at converting on third down

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost a Week Eight NFC South showdown with the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, falling 31-26 to give Atlanta a one-game lead in the division. While the outcome was a tough blow in the Buccaneers' quest for a fourth straight division title, the performance of the offense was in some ways very encouraging. Without Chris Godwin or Mike Evans – the former out for the season and the latter likely sidelined for a month – the Buccaneers still rang up 432 yards of offense and 24 first downs.

One reason the Bucs were able to move the ball so effectively throughout Sunday afternoon was their consistent ability to move the chains. The Buccaneers converted on nine of 16 third-down attempts against the Falcons and now have the best third-down conversion rate in the NFL.

Highest Third-Down Conversion Percentage, NFL, 2024

  1. Tampa Bay: 52.5%
  2. Kansas City: 50.6%
  3. Baltimore: 46.5%
  4. Washington: 46.4%
  5. Cincinnati: 45.9%

The Buccaneers have now converted more than half of their third-down tries in five of their eight games this season, including each of the last four. This is the first time in the franchise's 49-season history that it has posted a completion rate over 50% through the first eight games of a season.

Buccaneers Highest Third-Down Conversion Percentage, First Eight Games of a Season

  1. 2024…52.5%
  2. 2021…49.0%
  3. 2018…46.3%
  4. 1998…42.9%
  5. 2020…42.6%

The Buccaneers' yardage output against Atlanta marked the fourth time this season that they have surpassed 400 yards in a game. That's tied for the third most in the NFL this season. Both their 389.5 yards per game and 29.4 points per game rank fourth in the NFL prior to Monday night's game.

Most Yards Per Game, NFL, 2024

  1. Baltimore: 452.1
  2. San Francisco: 412.4
  3. Washington: 396.3
  4. Tampa Bay: 389.5
  5. Green Bay: 388.0

Most Points Per Game, NFL, 2024

  1. Detroit: 33.4
  2. Baltimore: 30.3
  3. Washington: 29.5
  4. Tampa Bay: 29.4
  5. Buffalo: 28.8

Quarterback Baker Mayfield led the Buccaneers' offensive charge with a career-high 37 completions in 50 attempts for 330 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. It was the 17th 300-yard passing game of Mayfield's career and his seventh since joining the Buccaneers last year. Mayfield leads the NFL in 300-yard passing games in 2024.

Most 300-Yard Passing Games, NFL, 2024

  1. Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers: 4
  2. Geno Smith, Seahawks: 3
  3. seven tied with: 2

View the top images of Tampa Bay's Week 8 game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, October 27th, 2024 at Raymond James Stadium.

Mayfield's three touchdown passes increased his season total to 21, which is the most in the NFL through Week Eight (Monday night not included) by a comfortable margin.

Most Touchdown Passes, NFL, 2024

1. Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers: 21

2. Lamar Jackson, Ravens: 17

3t. Joe Burrow, Bengals: 15

3t. Jordan Love, Packers: 15

5t. Josh Allen, Bills: 14

5t. Kirk Cousins, Falcons: 14

5t. Sam Darnold Vikings: 14

Mayfield is near the top of the league rankings in a variety of other passing categories, such as:

  • Attempts (284)…t-2nd
  • Completions (202)…2nd
  • Passing Yards (2,189)…2nd
  • Completion Pct. (71.1%)…3rd
  • Touchdown Pct. (7.4%)…3rd
  • Passer Rating (104.9)…6th

Mayfield has six games this season with multiple touchdown passes and five with at least three scoring throws, both of which are the most by any quarterback in the NFL. He has thrown at least three touchdown passes in each of the Bucs' last four games, which ties Tom Brady for the longest such streak in franchise history, and the longest ever in a single season.

Most Consecutive Games with Three-Plus Touchdown Passes, Buccaneers History

1t. Baker Mayfield…4, Oct. 3, 2024 – Oct. 27, 2024

1t. Tom Brady…4, Dec. 26, 2020 – Sept. 19, 2021

3t. Ryan Fitzpatrick…3, Sept. 9, 2018 – Sept. 24, 2018

3t. Josh Freeman…3, Oct. 14, 2012 – Oct 25, 2012

3t. Vinny Testaverde…3, Oct. 8, 1989 – Oct. 29, 1989

Two of Mayfield's scoring passes were hauled in by third-year tight end Cade Otton, who recorded the second two-touchdown game of his career. Otton led the team with nine receptions for 81 yards, setting a new career single-game high for catches one week after he had his first 100-yard receiving game against Baltimore. His performance marked just the seventh time a Buccaneer tight end has produced 80-plus receiving yards and multiple touchdowns, and the first since Rob Gronkowski did it against Dallas in Week One of the 2021 campaign.

Otton currently ranks fifth among all NFL tight ends in receptions (36), seventh in yards (344) and tied for fourth in touchdown grabs (3). Otton has 35 receptions since Week Three, which is the second most among all NFL tight ends in that span.

Most Receptions, NFL Tight Ends, Weeks 3-8

  1. Brock Bowers, Raiders: 37
  2. Cade Otton, Buccaneers: 35
  3. Travis Kelce, Chiefs: 34
  4. Trey McBride, Cardinals: 31
  5. George Kittle, 49ers: 29

The Buccaneers' rushing attack also produced 102 yards against the Falcons, marking the fifth straight game in which the team has surpassed 100 yards on the ground. That's the longest streak of 100-yard rushing games for the Buccaneers' offense since a six-game run in 2015.

Tampa Bay's offense once again relied on the three-headed backfield of Rachaad White, Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker. That trio accounted for 166 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, with White scoring on an 18-yard reception in the second quarter. Irving led the way 84 yards from scrimmage, including 44 yards on nine carries (4.9-yard average) to push his season total to 395 rushing yards. Irving now has a team-high 559 yards from scrimmage, second among all NFL rookies in 2024.

Most Yards from Scrimmage, NFL Rookies, 2024

  1. WR Brian Thomas, Jaguars: 588
  2. RB Bucky Irving, Buccaneers: 559
  3. TE Brock Bowers, Raiders: 547
  4. WR Malik Nabers, Giants: 427
  5. QB Jayden Daniels, Commanders: 424

In addition to the touchdowns posted by Otton and White, the Buccaneers got two points on a safety in the fourth quarter when a botched handoff between Kirk Cousins and Bijan Robinson resulted in a loose ball that eventually bounced out of the back of the end zone. That marked the Bucs' first safety since December 10, 2023, which was also against the Falcons. The other three points scored were on a 52-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin. McLaughlin has now made six field goals in seven attempts from 50 yards and beyond this season, and 30 of 36 in his career. He remains the most accurate kicker from 50-plus yards in NFL history.

Best Field Goal Percentage on Attempts of 50-Plus Yards, NFL History (minimum 20 attempts)

Kicker Team(s) Made Att. Pct.
Chase McLaughlin seven teams* 30 36 83.3%
Chris Boswell Steelers 36 44 81.8%
Daniel Carlson Viking, Raiders 29 37 78.4%
Ka'imi Fairbairn Texans 38 50 76.0%
Matt Prater Broncos, Lions, Cardinals 32 43 74.4%

(* McLaughlin has played for the Chargers, 49ers, Colts, Jaguars, Jets, Browns and Buccaneers)

On defense, defensive lineman C.J. Brewer recorded the first two sacks of his NFL career, accounting for the only sacks for either team in the game. Brewer also had a critical stop of running back Tyler Allgeier on third-and-one on Atlanta's last possession. Linebacker Lavonte David contributed eight tackles, one of which was for a loss. David now has 165 tackles for loss in his career, which is third most among all active NFL players, trailing only Calais Campbell and Von Miller.

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