Tampa Bay

Buccaneers

Mayfield played through the injury in Sunday’s win over the Giants. He threw for 294 yards while completing 24-of-30 passes and appears to be good to go for Week 13’s game against the Panthers. Mayfield profiles as a low-end QB1 in what should be a plus matchup with his WR1 back in the mix.

Things felt like they were trending in this direction after Whitehead immediately left the field holding his pec after making a tackle on Tommy DeVito. The veteran safety did not return to the game and will now miss the remainder of the season with what is likely a torn pectoral muscle. Whitehead signed a two-year contract with the Buccaneers this offseason after spending 2022 and 2023 with the Jets. In 11 games this season, he’s totaled 76 tackles, three pass breakups, and two TFLs. He started every game he’s appeared in this season and will presumably be back for another season. That said, the Buccaneers can save $4.5 million against the cap by cutting him next offseason and wouldn’t have any dead cap space to worry about.

The two targets were at least an improvement on the zero McMillan saw in Week 10 before the Bucs’ bye week. With Mike Evans back from his hamstring injury and TE Cade Otton the clear No. 2 option in the passing game, McMillan is not worth rostering in re-draft fantasy leagues despite the Bucs’ receiver shortage.

Otton also had a drop that doesn’t show up as a target because the play was called back by penalty, anyways. We certainly don’t love to see Otton commanding only three official looks in Mike Evans’ first game in five weeks, though this was not a competitive contest. Baker Mayfield did still reach 30 attempts, however. It’s a sad reminder that Otton won’t be quite the money-printer he was during Evans’ protracted absence, but he is still a safe TE1 heading into Week 13 against the Panthers.

In a nightmare scenario, Tucker capped off the Bucs’ opening drive with a one-yard scoring plunge after Bucky Irving took the offense down to the one. Inconceivably, the Bucs tried to run it back the following series, this time with Vita Vea as the lead blocker. This time, Tucker fumbled. He had saw just one more touch the rest of the afternoon, his reception. That’s despite an entire half of garbage time. Needless to say, the coaching staff must not have been too impressed with the red zone cough up even though they recovered to kick a field goal. The Bucs have seemed intent on creating a three-man committee, but Tucker simply is not good enough to consistently steal touches away from Bucky Irving and Rachaad White.

With the Bucs coming off bye, Bucky Irving saw a new season high 18 touches. That included a 12-5 first half advantage over White. Disastrously, Sean Tucker mixed in for a goal-line vulture. The Bucs tried to get him another one on the very next series, but this time Tucker fumbled. He would touch the ball only one more time all day despite the Bucs playing with a big lead. Maybe this is about to be narrowed back down to a two-man rotation again. With Irving clearly having the lead, White has settled in as a mediocre FLEX option, but one reliably positioned to see 10-12 weekly touches.

Evans also drew a DPI in the end zone. Active for the first time since injuring his hamstring in Week 7, Evans predictably led the Bucs in receiving. He was out-caught by Bucky Irving and out-targeted by Sterling Shepard, but strange things happened in a game where the Giants did not bother to compete. Evans was not snap-counted and appeared normal physically. He looks ready to contribute as a WR1/2 for the stretch run. Even with all 32 teams active for Week 13, we’ll just go ahead and label Evans as a WR1 against the Panthers.

Whitehead made a tackle on quarterback Tommy DeVito and immediately grabbed at his pec after the play. He immediately ran off the field and did not return to the game. While we don’t yet know the severity of his injury, if it’s a torn pectoral, we could safely assume Whitehead’s season would be over. We’ll know more about the specifics in the coming days, but this would be a tough loss for the Buccaneers’ secondary if Whitehead is unable to return.

Irving’s 151 yards from scrimmage were easily a new career high, while the 18 touches were a new personal best by two. He has now bookended the Bucs’ Week 11 bye with his two biggest touch counts, and was out-touching Rachaad White 12-5 at the break with the Bucs leading 23-0. White was more involved in the second half, but it appears the Bucs have maybe finally chosen their horse in the backfield. Horrifically, Irving was vultured for a score by Sean Tucker after Irving took the Bucs down to the one. The Bucs tried a reprise a series later only for Tucker to fumble. Perhaps we have seen the end of that experiment. White will never fully go away, but Irving will be an upside RB2/FLEX for Week 13 against the Panthers.

It was an eventful day for Mayfield, who also fumbled twice, losing one of them. That came at the 9:08 mark of the fourth quarter, and Mayfield suffered a stinger in the process. It was 30-7 at the time, but Mayfield still ended up returning. That’s a bullish sign for his Week 13 availability against the Panthers. With Mike Evans back in the lineup, Mayfield unsurprisingly had his best overall start in several months. He completed 80 percent of his throws and averaged a season-best 9.8 yards per attempt. Mayfield was also totally fearless, making his presence felt as a blocker probably a little too often for the Bucs’ comfort. In this strange year for quarterbacks, Mayfield will remain in the low-end QB1 mix for Thanksgiving week even with all 32 teams active.