Deja Vu for Bucs QB Mayfield, OC Coen this weekend

TAMPA, Fla. – It will be déjà vu for Buccaneers quarterback and offensive coordinator Liam Coen this weekend when the Bucs host Las Vegas at Raymond James Stadium. Sunday marks the second anniversary of then-Rams quarterback Mayfield’s famous 98-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to beat the Las Vegas Raiders 17-16. Liam Coen was his offensive coordinator.

“It was great, a fresh start, to be able to enjoy football again, and that’s where I found the joy of football again, in Los Angeles,” Mayfield said after practice.

Mayfield was a Ram for less than 48 hours when he and Coen came up with a game plan for Baker’s opening game.

“10 p.m. that night, we played pretty well until about 1 a.m.,” Coen recalled after Thursday’s practice. “He went home, went to the hotel and rested a little, and we went back there at 6:30 and 7 a.m. We did that until the game. I remember that ( Rams head coach Sean McVay) said brightly, ‘If we win this game, it will be a miracle.’ It happened. So it was really cool.”

It was only one game, but Mayfield credits that performance and his own perseverance with kickstarting his second act as a franchise quarterback.

“Obviously this game was a big part of me being here, but not only that: getting a fresh start and sometimes you need a little fresh start to see the better side of things,” Mayfield said. “It brought me to this point and obviously working with Liam (Coen) in the past has helped us progress to where we are in this offense so far.”

“It was just letting him be him in a lot of ways,” Coen added. “Just him giving us confidence and maybe we also give him some at the end of the year, where maybe he needed it in a tough moment for him.”

The Bucs (6-6) and Raiders (2-10) kick off Sunday at 1 p.m. A Tampa Bay victory combined with a victory by the Minnesota Vikings (10-2) against the Atlanta Falcons (6-6) would put the Bucs in the lead. possession of first place in the NFC South.