Bucs Gameday

Stat Shows How Good Bucs Offensive Line Has Been in Passing Game Through Week 11

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have done a great job protecting quarterback Baker Mayfield.

River Wells

Sep 8, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Graham Barton (62) lines up against the Washington Commanders in the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Sep 8, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Graham Barton (62) lines up against the Washington Commanders in the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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Tampa Bay's offensive line took a little bit to gel together, but now, they aren't just playing good — they're playing like one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.

The Athletic's Ben Baldwin, an analytics reporter covering the NFL, posted his weekly thread that examines the league from multiple statistics perspectives. One of those things is offensive line play, and he posted a graph showing the effectiveness of pass blocking from every team's offensive line. This is measured by how high a team's pass-rush win rate via ESPN metrics is combined with how good their line as a whole is graded by Pro Football Focus, and as a result, the Bucs are one of the best offensive lines in the league at protecting their quarterback:

While there are a few teams that appear to have a higher pass rush win rate from the offensive line's perspective, the Bucs are one of the upper-echelon lines according to this graph. Tampa Bay's interior line struggled greatly in 2023, but with the additions of rookie center Graham Barton and free agent guard Ben Bredeson and the development of guard Cody Mauch, the team has become both a great pass-blocking line in protecting quarterback Baker Mayfield and a great running line in helping out players like Rachaad White and Bucky Irving.

That may be thrown in flux without left tackle Tristan Wirfs, however, who sprained his MCL against the San Francisco 49ers. Hopefully, he'll be back in a few weeks, but until then, Tampa Bay will have backup Justin Skule take his place.

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River Wells
RIVER WELLS

River Wells is a sports journalist from St. Petersburg, Florida, who has covered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2023. He graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2021. You can follow him on Twitter @riverhwells.

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