TAMPA, Fla. – Fresh out of the injury tent and trying to maintain a four-point lead over the New Orleans Saints in Week 6, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield dropped his shoulder and threw himself at cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

It was the Bucs’ franchise QB trying to set the tone when running back Bucky Irving took the handoff for a 31-yard gain. Mayfield would find tight end Cade Otton for an 8-yard touchdown five plays later.

On the play in which he was hurt, Mayfield turned and ducked his way out of the pockets of cornerback Alontae Taylor, but fell to his stomach after his foot was caught behind by defensive end Carl Granderson.

The NFL’s touchdown leader through the first six weeks of the season may have let him down on that play, but he bounced back just like Tampa has all season: through injuries, losses and setbacks.

Now the Bucs (4-2) are ready for a big test on “Monday Night Football” (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN/ESPN+) when they host the Baltimore Ravens (4-2), but so far , their calling cards were their versatility in attack with the constant movement and shifts of coordinator Liam Coen, plus aggression in defense with coach Todd Bowles’ extensive blitz packages.

At a deeper level, their identity is their “resilience,” according to Bowles.

While he joked Thursday about Mayfield sounding like Rocky Balboa after the QB was described as “tenacious” and “grit” as a scrambler, the idea was spot on. Mayfield is averaging 6.5 yards per carry leaving the pocket, fifth in the league among quarterbacks with 20 or more rushes in Week 7.

As a whole, Mayfield leads a group that has shown itself to be pretty tough to rattle, and the team embodies the sloppiness of their QB and the heart of their coach.

Two major hurricanes hit the Tampa Bay region in the span of 14 days, with the second forcing a team-wide evacuation that sent 300 members of the organization and their families with 30 pets to New Orleans. Receiver Mike Evans said the Bucs were playing for something “bigger,” and in a week of practice at Tulane University, they were able to come away with a 51-27 victory over the Saints.

“It was a little weird,” left tackle Tristan Wirfs said. “I mean, we found out on Sunday night or Monday, ‘Yeah, we’re leaving on Tuesday.’ We say, ‘What do you mean?’ So just that quick turnaround, like, “Pack your stuff, pack your families.” Let’s go.'”

EITHER OR NOT that the evacuation set the tone for a chaotic second quarter is up for debate – as some Bucs players say the Saints provoked them – it certainly didn’t help their circumstances in a crucial game that would see them fall 0-2 in the NFC South are not ideal.

“I mean, it’s a sudden change. That’s part of football, that’s part of life,” Bowles said. “Things will happen to you every day that you will have to make adjustments to, and you will have to keep your composure as you do them.”

After jumping out to a 17-0 lead, things quickly went wrong. Mayfield threw three interceptions — two were tipped — and Rashid Shaheed returned a Jake Camarda punt 54 yards for a touchdown. The Bucs also scored seven penalties in those 15 minutes, prompting chants of “Who dat! Who dat!” flooded the Caesars Superdome as they headed to the locker room at 27-24.

“(Bowles) basically told us, ‘Just keep your cool. They can’t beat us,'” defensive back Tavierre Thomas said.

Mayfield added, “The bottom line is guys can hit the reset button knowing it’s an exciting game and say, ‘Hey, if we just do our job, we’ll be fine.’ With that mentality of ‘one game at a time.'”

Bowles’ attitude resonated with his coaching staff and players, and he made technical adjustments to tighten the pocketbook so that quarterback Spencer Rattler could no longer escape on bootlegs.

They stopped covering their outside linebackers. And they started running with the ball more while continuing to rely on their screen play.

“I mean, if you see our coach on the sideline, he’s pretty much the same the whole game,” Irving said. “It’s always great to have a coach who remains calm and collected in such moments.”

Cornerback Zyon McCollum, who missed a tackle on KhaDarel Hodge’s game-winning 45-yard touchdown in overtime against the Falcons in Week 5, recorded a crucial interception in the fourth quarter. Bowles had backed McCollum after the Atlanta loss, saying he played it correctly and went for the ball despite missing the tackle. His uplifting calm remained.

“It’s everything,” McCollum said of that support. “If I’m not confident, if I’m not playing confidently, I’m a completely different player.”

IT IS THAT the same fortitude and resilience that has allowed the Bucs to pull off big wins against the Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles this season, despite not being at full strength for any of those games.

Against Washington, they were forced to rely on backup safety/Nickelback Christian Izien as outside cornerback after McCollum, Bryce Hall and Josh Hayes all left the game with injuries. The last time Izien played outside cornerback? His sophomore year in high school. He then spent the next four games filling in for All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (foot).

They also were out of right tackle Luke Goedeke for four games after he suffered a concussion in Week 1, with Mayfield taking five sacks against the Lions but coming away with a 20-16 win. By the end of that game, they were without defensive tackle Vita Vea, who suffered a sprained MCL, in addition to defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, their 2023 first-round draft pick, who had missed five games with a calf injury. They had to rely on backup Greg Gaines and practice squad call-up CJ Brewer.

They’ve gotten unexpected contributions from defensive lineman Logan Hall, who sacked Kirk Cousins ​​twice in Week 5 and has three sacks this season after missing the opener with a foot injury.

Sean Tucker, their third running back whose career was stifled by a heart condition discovered at the 2023 NFL combine, had a career day against the Saints – rushing for 136 yards and a touchdown and adding 56 receiving yards and counting a score in his first extended action with Rachaad White out due to a foot injury.

His counterpart, Irving, a 2024 fourth-round draft pick, currently leads the team with 328 rushing yards and is averaging 5.7 yards per carry.

“You’ve got to adapt. You’ve got to adapt,” Bowles said of injuries. “And guys make the team for a reason. You have to know why they put your team together and put them in a position to play. Everyone deals with that and everyone adapts differently. We like where we are right now .”

Bowles’ defense will be tested by the Ravens, who lead the league with 453.7 yards per game. Baltimore is the only team to score more touchdowns than the Bucs (20) on offense at 21, and Jackson has been the catalyst as he continues to make a case to repeat as the NFL’s MVP.

“First you have to pray,” said passing game coordinator/inside linebackers coach Larry Foote. “You just have to pray. You have to hope and you have to wish. It will require a group effort – even the (safety) measures. Everyone will have to be responsible for him. at the end of the day, if he relapses and decides to run, it will be a challenge. If he is tackled, it is a minor tackle – then the prayers will be needed.

If the Bucs can escape with a win, they would be 5-2 heading into a rematch with the Falcons (4-3) in Week 8 and a chance at redemption with first place in the division on the line.