HEAD COACH TODD BOWLES

(On Carolina QB Bryce Young having success when Tampa Bay was in zone coverage yet not faring well when Tampa Bay was in man-to-man coverage, and why each type of defense was called at particular times in the game)

"It was all situational. We played quite a bit of man, but we can't play man all game. We've got to get to the quarterback. He's very athletic using his feet. With a four-man rush, he kind of got away from our bigger guys and bought some time for himself. It's a credit to him."

(On when he thought RB Bucky Irving could be a special player)

"You saw flashes every week – you saw what he was. We just wanted to make sure he was durable and did the right things. You knew in college, he could make the first guy miss – it was just a matter of adjusting to the pro game. He seems to have adjusted just fine."

(On if Irving has exceeded his expectations)

"No, he's exactly what I expected him to be. He was a great player coming out; we thought he could be a great player."

(On his assessment of Las Vegas TE Brock Bowers coming out of the NFL Draft)

"I thought he was one of the best tight ends coming out in a long time – not just this draft, but in a long time. He's living up to expectations. He can play wideout, he can play tight end, he can do some fullback, he can run jet sweeps. They do a lot of things with him and he's a very talented guy."

(On Bowers' route-running ability)

"He's a very good route runner. He's a very good route runner. He can power you, he can finesse you – whatever the situation allows, he can get it done."

(On the offensive performance in the fourth quarter against Carolina)

"[We were] just staying with the run game in the fourth quarter. Even when we were down and we were tied, [Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen] was staying with the run game and making sure that worked and getting yards that way was the most impressive thing."

(On what makes Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen difficult to game plan against)

"I mean, they game plan every week. The motion is challenging, the offensive line is challenging, and the running backs make it challenging, and the wideouts as well. You've got some talent out there and some pieces to do some different things and kind of keeping everyone off balance."

(On Tampa Bay potentially moving on to their third punter of the season with practice squad P Jack Browning)

"He's had a couple of good weeks punting the football. We think he's really got a lot of talent – he's got a lot of talent. He can boom it and he can place it where it needs to be placed. [Trenton] Gill had a bad game. It was a bad game and it could have cost us. We're trying to find stability there. Hopefully [Browning] can get it done."

(On if Browning will be the holder on kicks)

"Right now, yes."

(On Las Vegas QB Aidan O'Connell)

"Just seeing him early on, he goes through his progression reads very well. He's a very smart quarterback, he's a very tough quarterback, he can see pressure coming, he knows when to get rid of the ball, he's a very intelligent guy and he places it where it needs to be."

(On if there's an update on the status of DB Tykee Smith)

"Not at this time."

(On why RB Bucky Irving was fielding the final kickoff before halftime)

"He's a heck of a kick returner – he's one of our best kick returners. He's been back there all year, so he's in there because he's one of our best guys."

(On if Irving might not return kicks moving forward)

"If you get that kind of touches…You don't know, it's week-to-week. We'll see."

(On Tampa Bay re-signing safeties Kaevon Merriweather and Ryan Neal)

"You don't have time to bring in a new guy and break him in and learn everything he needs to learn. Those guys have been in the system, they understand it well…Having Mike [Edwards] and Jordan [Whitehead] go down, you need guys that can come in and play from a mental standpoint, as well as a physical standpoint. Those two fit the bill."

(On if there's an update on the status of S Mike Edwards)

"It's early. He's got a hamstring strain. We'll see. It'll be day by day for him."

(On the reason for Tampa Bay's offensive struggles in the first half against Carolina)

"I think we struggled in the red zone – we missed assignments there. We turned it over twice and we shot ourselves in the foot with some penalties. That doesn't make for a good first half. [Baker Mayfield] getting hurt probably calmed him down and got him back refocused and recalibrated. He came back and he played a heck of a game coming back for us."

(On Tampa Bay not forcing an interception since Week 6 yet facing an opponent in Las Vegas that has turned the ball over frequently)

"We want every week to be a 'get-right' week – no matter whether it's the Raiders or whoever is coming in here. We've got to get turnovers every ballgame. We preach it, we practice it…We dropped a few, we haven't gotten a few. We've got to get more."

(On if QB Baker Mayfield would have practiced today)

"He would have been [a] full [participant]."

(On what makes Las Vegas edge rusher Maxx Crosby so difficult to defend)

"He's got the full gamut. I mean, he's smart, he's tough, he's long, he's quick, he's got pass rush moves – he's got an arsenal that you wouldn't believe – he's got a live motor that goes for four quarters. He's beating singles, he's beating chips, he's beating doubles…You're not going to do anything new, you've just got to fight him for four quarters and win your share of battles and try and keep him off the quarterback. He's a great player."

(On how LT Tristan Wirfs looked in his first game back from injury)

"He played well. He played well. Tristan on one leg is probably better than most on two legs…He played well. He focused, he locked in, and he's a tough guy. He's a really tough guy."

(On if he likes the current format of the NFL mandated practice schedule)

"Other than keeping everybody healthy right now – that's the benefit of it, keeping everybody healthy…You don't get that many padded days. Back then, you were practicing all the time, mostly in pads. It's a completely different era. The game has changed quite a bit. You adjust as you go."

(On what he's most proud of and most frustrated with about this team)

"I'm proud of the fight – that we can compete and be in games every week. I'm frustrated with not finishing a couple of games off."

(On the difficulties of facing a middle-of-the-field presence like Las Vegas TE Brock Bowers considering Tampa Bay's struggles in that area this season)

"I don't know if it's been tight ends as opposed to it's been the middle of the field, from either a zone standpoint or a man [coverage] standpoint or a bust standpoint from here or there. I don't think it has anything to do with the tight ends – it's about us taking care of us and doing the little things right and being where we're supposed to be. He's a tough cover, regardless. He's going to be a tough cover for anybody every week he plays. We've just got to try and contain him. He's going to get some plays, we just can't let him get the YAC (yards after catch) yards or the big plays."

(On if LB K.J. Britt would have practiced today)

"No."

QUARTERBACK BAKER MAYFIELD

(On what wasn't happening for him on offense in the first half against Carolina)

"All the little things that we had been really good at. It's simple things, just out of the huddle, getting lined up right, no pre-snap penalties – things like that. We just [were] a little sluggish I'd say and it just kind of trickled everywhere but yeah, it starts with me. We made the plays when it counted and that's what you love to see in a close ballgame – being able to overcome all the other stuff that we hadn't played well at all, to be able to find a way to win."

(On how he was able to reset himself physically and mentally after his injury and continue playing)

"The most important play is the next one. You try and always revert back to that, even though the course of the game wasn't going our way offensively – just play the next play and keep yourselves in the fight and find a way to win."

(On how he's feeling physically and Head Coach Todd Bowles saying that he thought Mayfield would've been a full participant if today's walk-through was a practice)

"Yeah, it's a part of my job just to get ready to physically play. [I'm] doing my recovery stuff, everything I need to do to be able to be ready to play and yeah, [I] feel decent. [I'm] still a little sore but it's Week 13 or 14 in the NFL so [I] got to go."

(On if he is sore in his Achilles area)

"Yeah, it's right leg soreness."

(On where Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen has made his game improve)

"I just think schematically, everything we're able to do within the run game as well. The run game always helps out your pass game. When you're able to control the line of scrimmage, when your guys are breaking tackles like our guys are and those holes are opening up, so it opens up the pass game. Not just that, but just the alerts and the football knowledge and things that we're doing in preparation for the game, schematically."

(On if he personally feels like he has been playing at another level under Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen)

"Yeah, it has been. There's obviously been some games with multiple turnovers which is not what I want. When it comes to developing and continuing to try and get better and better, yeah I think Liam [Coen] has done an incredible job helping me out."

(On what his emotions were like in the overtime period when Carolina was in field-goal range)

"Just hoping to get another chance, honestly. Obviously, they missed a couple field goals prior so at that point [I was] hoping for that. Obviously, Anthony Nelson making an incredible play and Yaya [Diaby] scooping it up… [I was] hoping for the best and saying, 'All right, next points win, so let's go down and make it happen.'"

(On Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen's play calling in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game)

"When your offensive line and your [running] backs and receivers are blocking like that and making plays, it makes it easier for him. I mean, to get 235 yards in the ground is not easy in the NFL. Those guys opened it up for him and he was doing a good job of, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.' There was a lot of the same schemes that were getting called there back-to-back – some coordinators just won't re-call the same play but he kept doing it."

(On Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen committing to the run game towards the end of Sunday's game)

"That's a part of the defense keeping us in the ballgame and obviously Chase [McLaughlin] knocking down some field goals to where it was a close game, to where you're not having to be in those one-dimensional offensive situations. So yeah, he was able to stay with it."

(On what's going to be critical for the team down the stretch)

"Taking care of the ball, situational football. I mean, this time of the year – obviously it's late in the year, guys are banged up so it's the mental aspect of it – taking care of the ball situationally, making sure we get touchdowns in the red zone, getting turnovers on defense and special teams – making sure there's big plays for us and stopping the big plays for them."

(On if the players look at it as they need to win the division to make the playoffs)

"Our mentality right now is that we're in playoff mode. We have to win out to get in and just see what happens. It's a one-game-at-a-time mentality, much like last year and we're going to continue to say it."

(On if the chance to be in first place in the division following Sunday is a driving force for the team)

"Yeah, I mean obviously, we'd like to have a better record then we do now but we're still saying that we control our own destiny. Outside factors right now don't really matter if we don't take care of business. It's got to be, 'How do we win this game?' And it's got to be like that every week on out."

(On if he looks at game-tying and game-winning drives as just a regular drive or if it helps knowing the stakes of it)

"No, you definitely have to know the situation and everything but when it comes down to it, it's situationally being able to execute knowing that you have three timeouts, a little over 30 seconds. We can throw the ball up the middle of the field. We can do that, get the clock stopped with a timeout, you want to get it to the sidelines to where you don't have to burn them. Our guys were locked in. Situationally, that was really well executed by everybody."

(On what lessons they can learn from close wins like Sunday)

"It just comes down to simple execution. The pre-snap penalties, some things, just miscommunication on others, and just executing – it's going to come down to that. It's the teams that don't beat themselves and I think for the majority of that game, offensively we were beating ourselves."

(On what he's learned about RB Bucky Irving's play style)

"How many times can we get the ball in his hands and how quickly? That's pretty much what I've learned [is] he's a play maker. He makes a lot of people miss, breaks tackles, he's able to do it all, catches the ball naturally, screens, stuff like that we can use him as a receiver but then obviously as a running back, he's able to cut and make people miss in the hole. He's a great player for us."

(On his impression of Raiders DE Maxx Crosby)

"Obviously, [he's] a guy that is the game wrecker on their defense, never stops. He's always trying to get in the quarterbacks' head, pushes the boundaries on when the whistle stops and all that but that's – I've played Maxx a bunch and that's just how it is. Our O-line knows that. Everybody knows that's his M.O. so we'll be ready for it."

(On how much he thinks about his Thursday Night Football game as Los Angeles Ram against the Raiders)

"I mean it's fun to think about in the offseason and stuff like that but when it comes time to in-season stuff, you don't really think about it too much. Obviously, that game was instrumental in me being here but not just that game – getting out for a fresh start and sometimes you need a little fresh start to see the better side of it. It brought me to this point and obviously, working with Liam [Coen] in the past has helped progress where we're at in this offense to now."

(On what he remembers about that game as a Ram against the Raiders)

"It was great, a fresh start, being able to enjoy football again and that was where I found the joy in football again, out in L.A."

(On if he's surprised on how quickly they have caught up to the Falcons in the NFC South standings)

"I mean, that's the ebs and flows of the season. You can be hot early, you can be hot in the middle or late. You just have to be hot at the right time. We're trying to continue to build and stack these wins and by any means, find a way to win. Like I keep saying, control our own destiny and see what happens."

(On what led to his second interception against Carolina)

"I mean, the mentality was like, 'There's no way they actually throw the ball with him coming back in there.' And they got me good on that one. I saw man coverage, Xavier Woods just fell off it in the crossing pattern. Mike [Evans] was getting matched up, 'JMac's' (Jalen McMillan) guy followed him for a little bit, and then Sterling [Shepard] wound up coming open on the other side because that was Xavier Woods' guy coming across the field. It just goes back to making sure you're seeing the whole field and confirming it."

(On if he was throwing to WR Jalen McMillan or WR Sterling Shepard on his second interception)

"Sterling was going across the field. I was throwing it to 'JMac' though."

(On what he thought of the hit on Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence)

"Obviously, this game is violent. You try not to slide late – I'm not saying that he did but things like that can happen. Those are the violent hits – when you bounce your head off the turf like that – that are really scary for everybody. Obviously, Trevor is doing a little bit better now. He's publicly said that. You have to try and protect yourself at all times and I think a lot of people respected that his teammates stood up for him. That's football."

(On if it angers him as a quarterback that Trevor Lawrence got injured while sliding which is supposed to keep the quarterback safe)

"Yeah, but that's why you see the anger and obviously, the NFL reacted on the suspension. It is what it is."

(On what he thinks is the hardest stadium to play in)

"Kansas City in prime time is up there. Detroit is up there, and Seattle – probably the top three."

RUNNING BACK BUCKY IRVING

(On winning NFC Offensive Player of the Week)

"Like I always say, shoutout to the guys up front – I think they need to get more recognition. Y'all need to bring some of [those] guys up, because they're doing a [heck] of a job of opening up the holes for me. Shoutout to [those] guys."

(On when things started to 'click' for him at the NFL level)

"It really didn't click with me as much when I first got here. There's always doubt when you first get to a new thing in life. I'd pretty much say I just put my head down each and every day and grind and go to work – never get comfortable or satisfied…Being able to trust the process whenever my number is called, going out there and doing what's best for the team."

(On when the game slowed down for him)

"I'd say [after] a couple of preseason games and then going into the regular season, after a couple of games, I think it pretty much slowed down for me."

(On if he's eyeing a 1,000-yard season)

"No, I pretty much just want to help the team win. I'm pretty much not a guy that sets goals, I'm a guy that wants to win football games. So, whatever the team needs me to do, I'm going to do it."

(On his habit of being one of the first players in the building and when that started)

"That's something I've always [done] in college. Growing up, I used to have to get up for school early to go to school, so it was already instilled in me. When I got to college, I used to just do it every day and also [to] get my body going. I used to always think [that] God has got the 'up' on me, so I pretty much want to get up early and get my day started."

(On if Senior Offensive Assistant Tom Moore is the only person who beats him into the building)

"Him and [Head] Coach [Todd] Bowles. I told them [that] one day, I'm going to beat them before the season ends."

(On getting a season-high 25 carries against the Panthers and whether he can handle that many carries moving forward)

"Like I said, we all contribute in that room in different ways. If Rachaad [White] is getting 25 carries, if I'm getting 25 carries, if Sean [Tucker] is getting 25 carries…whoever is out there, we've just got to have each other's back whenever our number is called."

-BUCCANEERS-