The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need a win on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins to remain alive in the hunt for the NFC South title.
Well, technically they don’t, but things will be much easier if they did. The Carolina Panthers play the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday and go into the game at home as seven point underdogs. By way of tie- breaker, the Bucs could lose against the Dolphins if the Panthers lose to the Seahawks and they beat Carolina in Week 18, they’ll clinch the division. However, that’s no way to enter the do or die tournament.
The Bucs are trying to build some momentum and to do that they’ll need to head to Miami and come back to Tampa with a win. An inability to capitalize in the critical moments have been a pivotal to the Bucs stretch of losses. Quarterback Baker Mayfield suggests it is a lack of focus in those critical moments that is leading to missing the little details that allow them to be successful as an offense.
"It's what I've hit on multiple times, you talk about how we were able to finish early on in the season, executing, doing the little things right,” Mayfield said. “Whether it's penalties or different things here and there. It hasn't been one thing consistently or else it would've been fixed. You just try and tell guys, 'Listen, you don't know when this play is going to come up, but you have to be on your P's and Q's. It's all little details, do your job at a very high level in critical moments, do the little fundamentals and details right and good things will happen.'"
Mayfield is correct in saying it’s been one thing after another for the Bucs offense that has led to its ineptitude at times. As quarterback he shares a blunt of the blame for his ill timed interceptions and missed throws, but the offense has felt disjointed more times than not. However, Mayfield and the teams understand they still control their own destiny.
“Our goals are still right in front of us. Would we like to be in a different position? Yeah, we would have liked to close this thing out by now, but that's not where we're at, we have to win at Miami and then come back home. Our focus right now is doing everything we possibly can to find a way to win in Miami and see what happens from there."
Despite the predicament they’re in, Mayfield is confident in his team's ability to get through another rough patch. After all this is a place they’ve been before.
"Our back is against the wall,” Mayfield said. “[We are] pretty comfortable there."