A player on the Buccaneers recently spoke about how they had the Minnesota Vikings' defensive signals in Sunday's 20-17 win.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were held to one first down offensively before the two-minute warning in the first half of their week one win over the Minnesota Vikings. Following the two-minute warning, they went 58 yards in 5 plays to tie the game at 10-10 going into the half. They followed that drive up with a 16-play, 75-yard drive that chewed up nearly 9 minutes of clock to start the third quarter. What changed?
Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield told teammate and starting running back Rachaad White that he figured out the Vikings signals as the offense shifted into up-tempo late in the first half. What followed was a second half without a single three-and-out for the Buccaneers and a lopsided time of possession where the Bucs held the ball for over 20 minutes in the second half.
White stated that Mayfield came into the locker room at halftime and said, "I got it, we got all these signals," according to a video posted on the Pat McAfee show.
“We’re in there talking as an offense and he’s like, ‘I know all these signals. If they do this, they’re going into Cover 2. If they do this, they’re going into Cover 3. Every time I alert this and they do this signal, they’re dropping back to this.’ And I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s amazing.’ . . . I was just listening to him and we were listening to him and we just kind of understood,” White told Buccaneer reporters.
That was another hurdle the Vikings had to face on Sunday, between their own penalties, turnovers and the other team knowing exactly what defense they were in, the Vikings were behind the eight-ball all day long. However, not everyone seems to agree that knowing a team's signs can make a difference in the outcome of the game.
I mean 90% of the games I was a part of we knew the signals https://t.co/55T9alBO5v
— Kyle Sloter (@KyleSloter) September 13, 2023
Former Vikings quarterback Kyle Sloter, famous for his pre-season success, took to Twitter to explain that sign stealing is not uncommon in the NFL. Whether or not it does make a difference, there were certainly adjustments made by the Bucs late in the first half that helped them ultimately win the football game. Perhaps the Vikings will switch up their signals before they play the Eagles on Thursday.