TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are determined to not get ahead of themselves.
Sunday’s 30-7 rout of the New York Giants started a seven-game, regular season-ending stretch in which the Bucs (5-6) will face six opponents that currently have losing records.
The victory coming out of the team’s bye week stopped a four-game skid and moved the three-time defending NFC South champions within one game of first-place Atlanta in the division.
The Falcons swept the season series, so the Bucs essentially trail the Falcons by two games with six remaining.
They’re in a good position to chase their fifth consecutive playoff berth, but can hardly assume they’ll benefit from having an easy remaining schedule.
“We’re hoping it builds confidence. We have belief that we’re still sitting and controlling our own destiny,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said of beating the Giants.
“But it’s not just going to happen,” Mayfield added. “So, we have to take it one week at a time. And you find the recipe for success within your work week. … You try to emulate that week after week and continue to build it.”
The Los Angeles Chargers, who entered Monday night’s game against Baltimore at 7-3, are the only opponent remaining on Tampa Bay’s schedule that currently has a winning record.
The Bucs will face division rival Carolina (3-8) twice in the next six weeks. They’ll also host Las Vegas (2-9) and New Orleans (4-7) and play the Chargers and Dallas Cowboys (4-7) on the road.
“We can’t get comfortable,” rookie running back Bucky Irving said. “We just got to keep our foot on the gas and keep running.”
The offense continues to put up big numbers, finishing with 450 yards against the Giants. It’s the fifth time Tampa Bay has gained more than 400 yards this season. The Bucs have now scored 30-plus points six times, second in the NFL behind Buffalo’s eight.
There wasn’t a lot to fault in the team’s performance against the Giants, although coach Todd Bowles said both the offense and defense could have been done a better job closing out the game late.
“For the most part we executed on both sides of the football,” Bowles said. “Still like to have finished the game a little better, but they came back (from the bye week) mentally tougher, and they came ready to play.”
Irving averaged more than 7 yards per carry in rushing for 87 yards on 12 attempts. He also had six receptions for 64 yards, finishing with a season-high 151 yards from scrimmage.
Just when it looked as if the defense was beginning to trend the right way health-wise, the Bucs lost safety Jordan Whitehead (pectoral) and linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (ankle) to injuries on Sunday.
Bowles said Monday he was still awaiting an update on the severity of Whitehead’s injury. Tryon-Shoyinka has an ankle sprain. LT Tristan Wirfs (knee) sat out against the Giants and his status will be evaluated as the week progresses.
11. With wide receiver Mike Evans back on the field after missing three games with a hamstring injury, Mayfield completed passes to 11 different players, tying a team record.
“He obviously changed the game, even when he's not getting the ball,” Mayfield said. “It's huge that we have him in.”
At Carolina, the second of three consecutive games vs. last-place teams the Bucs will face during their stretch run. They’ll also host the Panthers on Dec. 29.
“It’s an NFC South battle, and all of them are going to be hard. None of them are going to be easy,” Bowles said.
“I think (coach) Dave (Canales) has done an excellent job taking on that team and it’s taking over his personality right now,” Bowles added. “They’re playing pretty good football. … It’s going to be a tough battle.”
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield celebrates with fans after an NFL football game against the New York Giants Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A judge on Monday rejected a request to block a San Jose State women’s volleyball team member from playing in a conference tournament on grounds that she is transgender.
The ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews in Denver will allow the player, who has played all season, to compete in the Mountain West Conference women’s championship opening this week in Las Vegas.
The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by nine current players against the Mountain West Conference challenging the league’s policies for allowing transgender players to participate. The players argued that letting her compete was a safety risk and unfair.
While some media have reported those and other details, neither San Jose State nor the forfeiting teams have confirmed the school has a trans woman volleyball player. The Associated Press is withholding the player’s name because she has not commented publicly on her gender identity. School officials also have declined an interview request with the player.
Crews' ruling referred to the athlete as an “alleged transgender” player and noted that no defendant disputed that the San Jose State roster includes a transgender woman player.
San Jose State will "continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms," the university said in a statement, confirming that all its student-athletes are eligible to participate under NCAA and conference rules. “We are gratified that the Court rejected an eleventh-hour attempt to change those rules. Our team looks forward to competing in the Mountain West volleyball tournament this week."
The conference did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The players filed a notice for emergency appeal with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Crews said the players who filed the complaint could have sought relief much earlier, noting the individual universities had acknowledged that not playing their games against San Jose State this season would result in a loss in league standings. He also refused a request to re-seed the tournament without the forfeited losses.
The judge said injunctions are meant to preserve the status quo. The conference policy regarding forfeiting for refusing to play against a team with a transgender player had been in effect since 2022 and the San Jose State player has been on the roster since 2022 -– making that the status quo.
The player competed at the college level three previous seasons, including two for San Jose State, drawing little attention. This season’s awareness of her reported identity led to an uproar among some players, pundits, parents and politicians in a major election year.
Crews' ruling also said injunctions are meant to prevent harm, but in this case, he argued, the harm has already occurred. The games have been forfeited, the tournament has been seeded, the teams have made travel plans and the participants have confirmed they're playing.
The tournament starts Wednesday and continues Friday and Saturday. Colorado State is seeded first and San Jose State, second. The teams split their regular-season matches and both get byes into Friday's semifinals.
San Jose State will play the winner of Wednesday's match between Utah State and Boise State — teams that both forfeited matches to SJSU during the regular season. Boise State associate athletic director Chris Kutz declined to comment on whether the Broncos would play SJSU if they won their first-round tournament game. Utah State associate athletic director Doug Hoffman said the university is reviewing the order and the team is preparing for Wednesday's match.
The conference tournament winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. San Jose State coach Todd Kress, whose team has not competed in the national tournament since 2001, has said his team has been getting “messages of hate” and that has taken a toll on his players.
Several teams refused to play against San Jose State during the season, earning losses in the official conference standings. Boise State and Wyoming each had two forfeits while Utah State and Nevada both had one. Southern Utah, a member of the Western Athletic Conference, was first to cancel against San Jose State this year.
Nevada’s players stated they “refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes,” without elaborating. Nevada did not qualify for the conference tournament.
The nine current players and others now suing the Mountain West Conference, the California State University Board of Trustees and others include San Jose State senior setter and co-captain Brooke Slusser. Slusser says the player is transgender and hits the volleyball with more force than others on the team, raising fear during practices of suffering concussions from a head hit, according to the complaint.
The Independent Council on Women’s Sports is funding a separate lawsuit against the NCAA for allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports.
Both lawsuits claim the landmark 1972 federal antidiscrimination law known as Title IX prohibits transgender women in women’s sports. Title IX prohibits sexual discrimination in federally funded education; Slusser is a plaintiff in both lawsuits.
Several circuit courts have used a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to conclude that discriminating against someone based on their transgender status or sexual orientation is sex-based discrimination, Crews wrote. That means case law does not prove the “likelihood of success” needed to grant an injunction.
An NCAA policy that subjects transgender participation to the rules of sports governing bodies took effect this academic year. USA Volleyball says a trans woman must suppress testosterone for 12 months before competing. The NCAA has not flagged any issues with San Jose State.
The Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the team cancellations, citing fairness in women’s sports. President-elect Donald Trump likewise has spoken out against allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports.
Crews was a magistrate judge in Colorado’s U.S. District Court for more than five years before President Joe Biden appointed him as a federal judge in January.
Gruver reported from Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Hanson from Helena, Montana.
FILE - The San Jose State University Spartans line up for the playing of the national anthem and player introductions for their NCAA Mountain West women's volleyball game against the Colorado State University Rams in Fort Collins, Colo., on Oct. 3, 2024. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, file)
