Chase McLaughlin Is Bucs’ Clutch Weapon

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The Bucs have scored 348 points this season – 120 of them have come from one man’s leg. Kicker Chase McLaughlin has steadily done his job at an incredible rate, converting on 29 of his 31 field goal attempts and hitting all 33 of his extra point attempts. His 93.5% accuracy mark is the best mark in team history, easily besting the 92.9% rate that Connor Barth posted in 2011 and several points better than the 90.3% mark that his predecessor, Ryan Succop, posted in his best year with the team (90.3% in 2020). Chase McLaughlin Is Deadly From Deep Not only has Chase McLaughlin been able to match – and best – Ryan Succop’s accuracy, which kept the former Bucs kicker around for three seasons, but he has added a deep element that Succop never possessed. With his 57-yard field goal as time expired in the first half of the Bucs’ Week 18 victory over the Panthers, Tampa Bay’s soft-spoken specialist also set the team record for field goals from 50+ yards. His seventh make was in eight attempts on the season, with his only miss from beyond 50 joining his only miss from inside of that mark as blocked attempts that likely would have been good. Bucs K Chase McLaughlin – Photo by: USA Today Head coach Todd Bowles spoke about the confidence that McLaughlin’s consistency and power has given the team following the team’s final game of the regular season. “It’s been huge,” Bowles said. “We couldn’t make those 50-yarders a year ago. Right now, we can make them easily. And he’s hitting them right down the middle…He’s been a big addition for us, and he’s come through every time.” Bowles is right. McLaughlin’s 92.9% field goal percentage entering play on Sunday was 9th in the NFL and he had the second-best kicker grade from Pro Football Focus at 91.4. His leg accounted for the entirety of the Bucs’ scoring against the Panthers as his three field goals accounted for all nine points Tampa Bay scored. When asked about his long make against Carolina, which tied his season and career long, McLaughlin said he felt comfortable with the situation. “To me, I hate to say the old saying that ‘Every kick is the same,’ but it really is,” McLaughlin said. “It doesn’t matter what time of the game, what point of the game, how far the kick is. We just go out there as a group and try to put together a good operation and make every kick we can.” And when asked about his comfort-level with the distance McLaughlin said the conditions helped him feel good about his chances. “It depends which way we were going,” McLaughlin said. “It was one of the toughest and direct straight-down the field winds I have ever kicked in. It was kind of changing throughout the game, depending on what the wind was doing. But we felt good from obviously 57 and a little bit beyond. So we were happy to make that kick for the team.” Bucs Found Diamond in the Rough During Free Agency Bucs K Chase McLaughlin – Photo by: USA Today Chase McLaughlin wasn’t a lock to make the final 53-man roster. Much like former and current teammate Baker Mayfield, the Bucs put McLaughlin into a competition to earn his job during training camp. After signing the former Brown in late March to a one-year, $1,130,000 contract, the team also brought in former Colt Rodrigo Blankenship in June. Throughout camp it wasn’t much of a competition as McLaughlin was much more consistent with a bigger leg than his competition. For all of the surplus value Mayfield has provided the team (and whether you think he should be back or not in 2024, Mayfield has provided a ton of surplus value), McLaughlin may have been general manager Jason Licht’s best signing of the offseason. When asked about that journey from signing, to kicking competition, to making the team, to becoming one of the best kickers in the NFL this year, McLaughlin gave most of the credit to a higher power. “Yeah, I mean I think it’s a big testimony to God,” McLaughlin said. “Just everything that me and my family have gone through to get to this point and just be a part of this team. This is one of the best team’s I have been a part of. It’s just a testament to Him, to keeping our faith in Him.” Mayfield added during his post-game press conference how much of an impact having McLaughlin around has had for the offense and the team as a whole. Bucs K Chase McLaughlin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR “Chase is a stud,” Mayfield said. “I had an opportunity to play with him in Cleveland. He was great there, too. We are lucky to have him. [He’s been] so consistent for us. And obviously, going with the wind a couple of times there he was going to have a little bit more leg room to give. But he’s just so consistent. He’s even-keeled all the time. So, another guy we’re lucky to have.” Given the affinity the coaching staff and his teammates have for him, combined with both his range, accuracy and ability in the clutch, Chase McLaughlin has more than earned an extension with the Bucs after their playoff run, however long that is. Because make no mistake, McLaughlin has been a big part of this team reaching the post-season. For at least one more week the Bucs are continuing to dance. And it is in large part due to this unsung hero. The post Chase McLaughlin Is Bucs’ Clutch Weapon appeared first on Pewter Report.

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