Bucs hope to take advantage of bye-week rest vs. upstart Patriots

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A beat-up Baker Mayfield appreciated the timing of Tampa Bay’s bye week, but he is ready to kick it back into high gear when the Buccaneers host the New England Patriots on Sunday.

A week without hits was good for the body of Mayfield, who is still battling knee and oblique injuries heading into the clash against one of the NFL’s biggest surprise teams.

Tampa Bay players were given seven consecutive days off by coach Todd Bowles, providing a mental break as well as the much-needed physical reprieve.

“It definitely helps getting rest,” Mayfield said Wednesday, when he was a full practice participant. “(I was) still moving my body around a little bit, not letting yourself get too sore, but then also just the non-contact definitely helps.”

Mayfield passed for a season-low 152 yards as the Buccaneers (6-2) recorded a 23-3 win over the host New Orleans Saints preceding the bye.

Though his production dropped the past two games, Mayfield has thrown multiple touchdown passes five times this year. He has 1,919 passing yards and 13 touchdowns against just two interceptions.

The NFC South leaders should receive a sturdy test from a New England squad that has excelled under first-year coach Mike Vrabel.

New England (7-2) holds a half-game lead over the Bills in the AFC East. The Patriots have won six consecutive games, including an impressive 23-20 win at Buffalo on Oct. 5.

Still, Vrabel isn’t looking too far ahead.

“For us to sit here, think that anything is wide open and talk about playoffs, we’re focusing on our 10th game in a row,” Vrabel said Wednesday. “That’s what we’re focused on — how do we get our bodies back? How do we get mentally prepared, physically prepared to go on the road to a place that is hard to play?

“That’s where our focus is. It’s not trying to predict the future of saying, ‘Well, it’s wide open.’ We’re just going to keep focusing on what’s in front of us.”

Second-year quarterback Drake Maye has stood out this season, throwing for 2,285 yards and 17 touchdowns against four interceptions.

Maye has been highly consistent, never reaching 300 yards and never falling below 200. He leads the NFL in completion rate at 74.1%.

The one glaring area of improvement needed is determining when to throw the ball away or scramble. Maye has been sacked 34 times, the second-highest figure in the league, including six times in each of the past two games.

“I think you just try to balance getting the football to the guys that are running the routes, because they’re better players than I am with the ball in their hands,” Maye said.

Maye and Mayfield could be firing lots of passes as both defenses are stout against the run. New England allows a league-low 75.4 rushing yards per game, while the Buccaneers are seventh at 92.6.

Tampa Bay will be without its best running back, Bucky Irving (foot/shoulder), for the fifth straight game. He has been missed, as the Bucs are 24th in rushing offense (98.1 yards per game).

“We got to block it better,” Bowles said. “At the same time, we got to understand that we’re not going to hit our head up against a brick wall. If they got too many people up there, we got to throw it and loosen it up as well.”

Tampa Bay receiver Chris Godwin Jr. (fibula) didn’t practice all week and will miss his fourth straight game. Linebackers Haason Reddick (ankle/knee) and Markees Watts (hand) also were ruled out while guard Luke Haggard (shoulder) is questionable.

Tampa Bay right tackle Luke Goedeke (foot) was activated off injured reserve Saturday after missing six games. He was a full practice participant on Friday and was listed as questionable.

New England running back Rhamondre Stevenson (toe), receiver Kayshon Boutte (hamstring) and linebacker Christian Elliss (hip) were all ruled out on Friday.

In the most recent meeting, Tampa Bay recorded a 19-17 road victory in 2021. New England leads the all-time series 6-3.

–Field Level Media