One of the biggest frustrations around the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season has been how inconsistent the offense has been. While Baker Mayfield has put together a career year and Mike Evans continued his path toward Canton, the offense struggled to put up points and often was the reason a game was lost.
It took less than a quarter for the Bucs to flip that narrative on its head.
Perhaps the greatest trick offensive coordinator Dave Canales played was tricking everyone into thinking the Bucs offense was an inconsistent mess. It was the playcalling of Canales and one of his guys that he brought in this offseason that gave the Bucs their first big play in seven quarters.
In the first quarter, Baker Mayfield connected with veteran receiver David Moore, who bobbed and weaved his way for a 44-yard touchdown that put the Bucs up big and electrified the crowd at Raymond James Stadium.
Buccaneers radio call of David Moore's 44-yard TD is incredible
Gene Deckerhoff was on the call for Buccaneers radio and worked his magic on the mic to make the moment even more incredible than it already was.
Just listen:
GENE DECKERHOFF CALLS BAKER MAYFIELD'S 45 YARD TOUCHDOWN PASS TO DAVID MOORE pic.twitter.com/qXF7qdugKS
— Bucs Rays Bolts (@BucsRaysBoltsYT) January 16, 2024
Not only is that an incredible radio call by Deckerhoff, but listen to that crowd at Raymond James Stadium. One of the marks against Bucs fans is that they don't show up, which is a stigma that happened largely because of how the last decade went.
Raymond James Stadium was typically full of opposing team colors on account of the Bucs not really deserving the support fans could have given them. That doesn't mean Bucs fans lost their loyalty, it just highlighted how bad things were. It was a badge of dishonor that the fan base still carries, though, with Week 6's game against the Lions being a bit of an embarassment given how many Detroit fans packed the stadium.
If there's a fanbase that travels well, it's Philly so there easily could have been a takeover for a Wild Card game that had ticket prices going as cheap as $90. Based on the sound of that crowd roar as Moore raced toward the endzone, it's safe to say Bucs fans showed up in a big way for the biggest game of the season so far.