Baker Mayfield didn’t play well against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 14, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense is fortunate enough to have a very potent ground game to lean on when the passing attack isn’t effective.

That came in handy on Sunday, as the Bucs rode Rachaad White and Sean Tucker (Bucky Irving exited the game early with an injury) to a 28-13 win, marking their third-straight victory in as many weeks.

In fact, the Bucs have ran for 150+ yards in their last three games and it’s the first time they’ve pulled that off since 1986 – nearly 40-years ago. A big reason why they’re able to do it is because of Liam Coen’s scheme, but it’s also because they have three very good running backs that fit the system well with their own unique styles.

Mayfield, as well as the rest of the Bucs, are well aware of that fact and he knows just how much that comes in handy during this time of year.

“Rachaad played his tail off, and mentality-wise, some of the runs he was doing – that’s what we need in December,” Mayfield said after the game. “He was physical, he did everything for us today… It’s a luxury that we are pretty lucky to have. Not many teams have three guys that you kind of just can plug and play. They are all different backs and good at their own thing.

“But having Sean come in there and add some physical runs in the gap game and be able to bounce the ball and create an explosive – that was huge for us.”

As it currently stands, the Bucs are just one of three teams to field three running backs with at least 236 rush yards on the year. The Miami Dolphins and the Washington Commanders, two of the NFL’s most prolific rushing offenses, are the other two.

But, the Bucs stand alone when it comes to total rushing yards (1,480) and yards per carry (5.1) among those three backs. There isn’t a single team in the NFL that even holds a candle to those totals among its top-3 running backs.

It’s been a huge breath of fresh air for an offense that has had notoriously bad running games (and we’re talking really bad, not just kinda-bad) over the last several years. It’s also added a whole new dimension to the offense, unsurprisingly, that’s allowed the unit to overcome some key injuries throughout the year.

The Bucs will face a solid test in the Los Angeles Chargers’ run defense in Week 15, but then it gets three of the NFL’s softest run defenses in the Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, and New Orleans Saints. Those three teams currently rank 31st, 32nd, and 25th, respectively, in rushing yards allowed per game and 29th, 31st, and 32nd in yards allowed per carry.

In other words: The Bucs have a very unique advantage over the rest of the NFL and if they can continue to put up numbers like they have over the last three weeks then it’s clear another NFC South title, and playoff berth, is in the bag.