Against Miami, Tampa Bay scored on its opening offensive drive, which culminated in a five-yard touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield to Chris Godwin Jr. Godwin surpassed the 100-yard receiving mark on the day, courtesy of a 59-yard catch and-run on the Bucs' final drive. On the score, Godwin ran an in-breaker from the slot and Mayfield hit him in stride as he crossed the quarterback's face.
"I think the best thing that I did there was to learn from a previous mistake," noted Godwin via the Bucs Players’ Table Show. "That play that we ran, it was a very similar play to the Cardinals game. In that game, I had a catch down the left sideline and then later on that drive in the red zone, it was a similar play and I ran an in-route and I had thought that I was second or third in that progression but based on the certain coverage, I could be first.
"I was trying to work the defender a little bit more at the top than I needed to and so when I came out of the break and I turned, the ball was there and hit me in my arm. I was like, 'I know that wasn't the ball. It could not have come to me this quickly.' We had talked about that on the sideline and they were like, 'If it looks like this, you go from being the two or three to being 1A to 1B.' I stored that and we ran a similar play yesterday and it was a similar coverage and so I knew that I was not going to make that same mistake again. I sped up my process and I expected the ball and me and Baker were on the same page."
Timing, repetition and communication fostered production and Godwin helped set the tone in Week 17. After missing five games due to a fibula injury, Godwin returned against the Rams in Week 12 and played an integral role in the club's offense, moving the chains with physical grabs in key moments. Godwin has elite run-after-catch skills and can do it all; whether running a post, dig, option, tunnel screen or jet sweep, he galvanizes the offense.
The Bucs have had a roller-coaster season, as the team dropped its fourth straight against the Dolphins, including the seventh loss of the previous eight matchups. Despite the spiral, Tampa Bay is still in position to lock up the NFC South division. If the Bucs beat the Panthers on Saturday in a Week 18 division clash, they will also need the Falcons to lose to the Saints on Sunday to secure their fifth-straight NFC South crown. Reflecting on the team's current standing, Godwin stressed focusing on the present and playing with urgency.
"We just have to do a significantly better job of executing," stated Godwin. "I feel like we have done all of the talking that we can do in terms of trying to motivate guys or whatever. We still have an opportunity to win the division and it is do or die now…We have to have the right sense of urgency and intensity."
