What gets Baker Mayfield fired up? The Bucs' run game.

TAMPA, Fla. — Baker Mayfield squatted down in front of offensive line coach Kevin Carberry, seated on the bench, so he could meet his eyes. The Bucs led the Commanders 30-14 with 11:07 remaining last Sunday when they took over at their own 9-yard line.

Twelve plays later — nine of them runs — the Bucs were in the end zone on Mayfield’s second touchdown pass to Mike Evans.

Mayfield was pumped, not by the TD pass but the way the Bucs had run the football.

“That was a physically imposing drive!” Mayfield began shouting. “That was a ... grown man professional football drive!”

Considering the Bucs have been the worst rushing team in the NFL the past two seasons, what happened in the closing minutes of Sunday’s game was, well, somewhat groundbreaking.

“I think that’s huge,” tackle Tristan Wirfs said. “At the end of the game — at any point in the game — if you can say, ‘Hey, we need a first down here. We’re going to run the ball. We’re putting it on your guy’s shoulders.’ Hell yeah! Let’s do it. You’re getting me fired up. It’s a great feeling because you can take the energy out of the team, you can take the energy out of a (visiting) stadium, just being able to run the ball, take the clock down, establish that line of scrimmage.

“Wear these freak-of-nature edge rushers out by running the ball and not just letting them tee off on you. It was awesome last week and hopefully we can do it again.”

There is a physicality that only a successful run game brings to an offense.

The changes the Bucs made in the offseason — drafting Duke center Graham Barton in the first round and signing Giants free agent guard Ben Bredeson — certainly help.

But so does coaching. Carberry, who worked with new coordinator Liam Coen on the Rams’ staff in 2022, has been excellent in teaching the new scheme.

Coen said it was important for the Bucs to begin to establish their identity on offense.

“Continuity, chemistry, confidence to say, ‘OK, we’ve got good skill players,’ like that’s kind of been the known here,” he said. “To be able to say, ‘OK, we’ve got to be able to run the football.’ They know we’ve got to run it and to put together a drive, a lot of it broke (Washington’s) will towards the end of that game. It was important just for our identity and where we’re trying to go with this thing.”

The Bucs rushed for 112 yards on 30 attempts, a very pedestrian 3.7-yard average.

But the ability to run the football successfully when needed is paramount to winning games.

No team demonstrated that better than the Lions’ overtime win over the Rams in Week 1. Detroit won the coin toss and marched 70 yards in eight plays, seven of them on the ground.

“You saw Detroit do that exact thing last week against L.A.,” Mayfield said. “When everybody knows you’re going to run the ball, when you have to late in the game with a lead, how are your guys going to handle it? Are you going to be the more physical team when you load the box up and you’re handing the ball off?

“That was a huge improvement for us. Scheme-wise, but more on the mental side. Being the more physical team knowing, ‘Hey, they know we’re running it, but we’re going to make it work somehow.’ That was a huge upgrade.”

Credit Coen and Carberry for much of the improvement, though it may be tougher at Detroit. The Bucs could be without right tackle Luke Goedeke, who did not practice Thursday due to a concussion. Backup Justin Skule would start in his place.