EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsCHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said the hope was that they wouldn't have to lean heavily on quarterback Baker Mayfield in his return from a three-game absence due to a dislocated right thumb.But he didn't anticipate Mayfield would only have 11 passing attempts in a 43-13 victory at the Carolina Panthers to improve to 2-5.Instead, it was a trio running backs -- Bucky Irving, Kenneth Gainwell and Sean Tucker -- who slashed their way to 258 rushing yards and carried the load offensively and amassed three touchdown runs, with Irving coming away with two. It kept the Panthers from blitzing Mayfield and ate up time of possession to keep the Panthers' explosive offense off the field."It was great. He made the plays when we needed him to," Bowles said of Mayfield. "We didn't need to make much. When the offensive line gets 49 runs in and you can run the ball like that -- especially a quarterback coming back off injury -- it made the day easy for him."Wearing a specially made baseball glove with a piece of mental reinforcement to keep the digit from bending in the wrong direction, Mayfield made plays when he needed to -- including a 14-yard pass off his back foot to wide receiver Tez Johnson that would mark the 200th touchdown of his career."Just played free and fearless," Johnson said. "It was his first game back. You always want to do your best."When asked if his hand was sore, Mayfield joked, "I don't know with these handoffs -- my thumb might be pretty sore ... It was good form though."They also leaned on a defense that sacked Bryce Young five times and picked him off twice, along with a scoop and score from defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, who somersaulted his way into the end zone. Special teams got in on the fun too, with Ko Kieft recovering a muffed punt and Zyon McCollum recovering a Tykee Smith blocked extra point and returning it for two more points."I think it's a statement internally for us -- not to anybody else -- but for us," Mayfield said. "This is what it's supposed to look like. It's not always going to look like that. It's the NFL. But operation-wise and when it comes to complimentary football, this is what the potential this team can have. And so it's a statement within ourselves."The Bucs had a dominant three-quarter performance against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers last week but lost 26-19 in overtime. Rodgers had gone on a tear in the fourth quarter while backup rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels threw two interceptions. Their quest this week as they entered divisional play for the first time this season was to get Mayfield back in the fold and put four quarters together."It was a victory. Didn't matter how it looked, but it's nice to see the attitude, intentionality, the mental side of it," Mayfield said. "What I said, 'You don't change the process just because of the results.' One thing we've been working on is how to play together, how to come together. So to see it come together and have a win like this -- the guys need to continue to build on that. We know what the recipe is for us when it comes to work throughout the week and when it comes to the energy and mindset on game day."The offensive line played a huge role in their blocking -- with 171 rushing yards coming before contact, according to ESPN's tracking, the most in a game for any team this season.The fact that it was the team that denied them a sixth consecutive trip to the playoffs and a fifth consecutive division title last season was a bonus. And they finally broke free of playing in 12 consecutive one-score games going back to last season -- it was the longest active streak in the NFL and tied for the second longest in NFL history, trailing only the 1989-1990 Chargers (14). The Bucs were 3-9 in those games.They were also the second team in NFL history to start a season with six straight one-score games and lose five of them, joining the 2015 Baltimore Ravens, who extended this to seven straight games and six losses the following week.They're still in contention in an NFC South division with only one team at or above .500 - the one they beat Sunday, with the Atlanta Falcons up next.
