TAMPA, Fla. - The Bucs offense has a lot of new pieces and players to it.
New QB, new offensive coordinator and an All-Pro tackle playing at a new position. While admittedly their play hasn't been perfect, they're off to a winning start, which is no surprise to them.
"I'm not necessarily surprised," Tristan Wirfs said." I know how much work we all put in this offseason and having so many guys here throughout OTA's and mini camp. We've been at this for a long time."
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Baker Mayfield has the new offense down. His timing with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin has been spot-on, but most importantly, he's protecting the football and playing turnover-free, which is a big reason for an undefeated start.
"I’m not an analytical guy by any means, but the percentages show if you take care of the ball, your chances of winning are extremely high, Mayfield said." "It’s been a point of emphasis since the offseason. It’s all about the ball – every meeting started with that."
Mayfield is 2-0 for the first time in his career with an impressive win on the road at Minnesota Vikings and a home win against the Chicago Bears, but going up against the defending NFC Champs, the Philadelphia Eagles, should be a better measuring stick.
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"It's only a measuring stick if we allow it to be," Godwin said. "Whatever we do when we go out there if we allow this one game to define our season, I think we are going to be wrong. Whether we win or lose."
"The good thing about the NFL season is you’ve got 17 games to prove [yourself] and you want to peak at the right time, Mayfield said. "This is one we’re looking forward to, and we definitely need to show our best stuff."
The Bucs find themselves as the underdog on Monday Night Football thrust in the national spotlight. It's an opportunity to once again prove their doubters wrong.
"How can we improve on offense? That’s taking care of the ball and making sure we do our part in that," Mayfield said. "But yeah, it’s extremely important, especially in a prime-time game like this where you’re going up against a great team – it’s even more important."