The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on a hot streak that many around the league could only dream of in terms of their drafts. General manager Jason Licht had some rough sledding early on in his tenure, but he has changed his approach and now seems to be hitting singles, doubles, and even homeruns, with his selections.

Baker Mayfield is no stranger to having to answer hard questions. During Monday Night Football‘s Manning cast, Eli Manning was conversing with Baker about breaking out of sacks and asked: “When does he (Mayfield) work on scrambling?” Mayfield replied with the most clever answer, a callback to his wild college days.

With the Bucs off on Sunday and enjoying their bye week ahead of a return to Raymond James Stadium in Week 10, their cushion atop the NFC South could only grow or shrink by a half-game depending on results elsewhere in the division.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took advantage of four New Orleans Saints turnovers in a 23-3 win against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome. Buccaneers linebacker Anthony Nelson logged two of those takeaways in the first half. He knocked the ball out of Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler’s hands at the end of a 7-yard scramble.

Outside linebacker Yaya Diaby leads the Buccaneers with 4.0 sacks and has elevated the defensive unit with his daily approach

Baker Mayfield has not been himself to start the game, but he was able to lead the team down the field right before half for a touchdown. He hit Kameron Johnson in stride for a 36-yard score for the wide receiver's first touchdown of his career. The team went for two points and failed, so they go up 20-13 with 44 seconds left in the half.

Bucs WR Mike Evan broke his collarbone and is out for most of the season. The Cardinals play Tampa Bay in Week 13.

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The Bucs have been hit hard by injuries throughout the first half of the 2025 season, and to this point, they’ve weathered the storm. Tampa Bay is 6-2 and leading the NFC South by 1.5 games, plus it sits in the No.