In Week Four of the 2024 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers scored 24 first-half points in the first half and led by 17 at halftime against Philadelphia. The Eagles rallied for nine points in the third quarter to pull within one score but the Bucs countered with nine second-half points to hold on for a 33-16 win.
In Week Five, the Buccaneers scored 24 first-half points in Atlanta and had a seven-point lead at halftime. They would tack on just six points on two field goals in the second half, giving the Falcons just enough room to rally and send the game to overtime before walking it off in the extra period.
In Week Six, the Buccaneers scored 24 first-half points in New Orleans but found themselves down by three at the half thanks to a dizzying run of turnovers, penalties and special teams miscues in the second period. This time, however, Tampa Bay dialed it up, not down after halftime and scored the game's final 27 points to leave the Superdome with a rousing 51-27 victory.
Wide receiver Chris Godwin, who led all players with 11 catches for 125 yards and a touchdown, said the previous two games had definitely focused the team's attention on avoiding those second-half lulls.
"We have to learn from our mistakes, especially in-division," said Godwin. "Those are always tough games, so you can never let your foot off the gas. We made that mistake last week. We can't do it. So we learned from our mistakes and we just have to continue to get better from that. We've got a lot of mistakes that we'll learn from in this game. So we have a lot of room to grow and we're looking forward to doing that."
It was Godwin who shifted the game's momentum for good and sparked a four-touchdown second half. Midway through the third quarter he took a short pass out to the right and worked his way through the Saints defense all the way to the end zone for a 55-yard score. The Bucs didn't stop there, though, as they would eventually pour on a team-record 594 yards of offense and top 51 points for just the second time in team annals.
"I think it was just maintaining our composure," he said. "We didn't do a great job of that during the second quarter and it resulted in unnecessary penalties and turnovers that are uncharacteristic of us. I think we just realized that we've just got to play our game, make sure that we stay cool and let our football do the talking. That's kind of what we did coming out in the second half."
Buccaneers players like Godwin and running backs Sean Tucker and Bucky Irving fought for every yard. Godwin's touchdown came on a throw that was not Baker Mayfield's first choice and probably expected to get just a handful of yards. Instead, Godwin ran around two defenders then bounced off two more, shocking the Saints' defense by breaking into the open field.
"It was a great play from my perspective," said Godwin with a self-deprecating laugh. "Honestly, it was just a checkdown. We had a shot called downfield that they had covered up, Bake got me the ball in good timing. I make a cutback on the 'backer flowing out, and from there I'm just trying to get as much yardage as I can. It ended up being perfect timing, breaking those two tackles and I see nobody in front of me. 'I can't get caught' – that's the only thing going through my mind. It was a pretty exhilarating play. It felt really good, especially at that moment in the game. It was a big moment for us. That's the biggest thing for me, is to try to make some big plays when we really need them."
Godwin wasn't the only one. The Bucs generated five plays of 30 or more yards, which is essentially the only way to bump on 600 yards in a game. It was the third-best rushing performance in team history, but Mayfield also threw for over 300 yards and tossed four touchdown passes.
"I think, if anything [it says] that we can play a bunch of different types of games," said Godwin. "What, did we set a franchise record for most yards? Put up 51 points and we had three turnovers. We can run the ball, we can throw the ball – obviously we are at our best when we can do both in the same game. Just having that ability to play in multiple ways and win in multiple ways is going to be big for us as we go down the season, because we've got a tough schedule."
