Baker Mayfield blamed for costly fumble late in Bucs’ season

TAMPA, Fla. – Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield took responsibility for a lost fumble in the fourth quarter of Tampa Bay’s 23-20 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday night and said that even though it “feels” will wear on me for a while,” while,” he is proud of the way his team competed this season.

The fumble came on a botched jet sweep with rookie receiver Jalen McMillan. Mayfield lost control of the ball as McMillan passed him and attempted to dive on it. Instead, he was picked up by Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner at the Tampa Bay 13.

“It comes down to me, it’s just timing it right,” Mayfield said. “First one all year that that happened. So obviously the timing isn’t great, being backed up. The defense did a heck of a job getting us the ball, another stop on fourth down and yes, it’s unfortunate, but it falls on me.”

The game was first and 10 from Tampa Bay’s 15 with 11:58 left in regulation. Washington had reached the Tampa Bay one-yard line on the previous drive, but Bucs defensive lineman Calijah Kancey beat running back Brian Robinson for a 2-yard loss and the defense forced three incompletions for a turnover on downs. .

On the Commanders’ drive following Mayfield’s fumble, quarterback Jayden Daniels connected with second-team All-Pro wide receiver Terry McLaurin on a 5-yard touchdown run that, with the point extra, brought the score to 20-17. The Bucs tied it on a 32-yard Chase McLaughlin field goal with 4:45 left, but the defense couldn’t hold on. Commanders kicker Zane Gonzalez’s 37-yard field goal bounced off the right upright and went in.

“(It was) me and Baker not being on the same page,” said McMillan, who caught 2 of 4 targets for 41 receiving yards. “Things like that happen. I mean, shoot, mistakes happen.”

It was Mayfield’s third lost fumble this season, all coming after Week 12. It was also the Bucs’ fourth loss.

“It’s heartbreaking,” McMillan said. “Just losing like this, I don’t like losing like this.”

When asked what he would say to Mayfield, coach Todd Bowles said there was nothing to say and praised Mayfield for the season he had, a season that often included risky plays outside the pocket where the 6-foot-1 Mayfield put himself. the danger.

“It’s your bell cow. Your bell cow takes a shot and if something goes wrong you have to live with that,” Bowles said. “They’re human. We’re going to make mistakes and he got us here – we wouldn’t even be here without Baker.”

Mayfield broke last season’s career-best 28 touchdowns with 41 this regular season – tied with MVP candidate Lamar Jackson for second in the NFL. He also increased his completion percentage from 64 percent to 71 percent, and that was without wide receiver Chris Godwin, who was lost to a season-ending injury after seven games and was then the team leader. NFL for receptions and touchdown catches, and without the franchise. all-time leading scorer, Mike Evans, for four games.

But those personal milestones didn’t mean much to Mayfield, even after resurrecting his career and finding a permanent home in Tampa after stints with three different teams.

“It’s never about one person, and that’s what this team embodies, that’s what they embody,” Mayfield said. “That’s the most important part. That’s what they can be proud of, is that we grew up together, guys helped each other and stepped up. It’s never about one person .And unfortunately we made some mistakes that hurt the team today.”

Mayfield said he was proud of the way his team fought. After a four-game losing streak, the Bucs won six of their final seven games to finish 10-7 in the regular season and win the NFC South again (this was Mayfield’s second consecutive NFC South title and fourth of the Bucs). But they fell short of last season’s 32-19 win over the Philadelphia Eagles after hoping to advance beyond the divisional round, where they lost to the Detroit Lions a year ago. year.

The Bucs opened this season with a 37-20 win over the Commanders in Week 1, then avenged their playoff loss to Detroit with a 20-16 win. Then came a 33-16 win over the Eagles in Week 4. But the effort was not enough on Sunday evening and there will be no trip to Philadelphia.

“It’s disappointing overall because I believe in this team,” Mayfield said. “I believe we have the talent, the coaching staff and everyone around us to be able to go far, but looking back, trying to take a step back, we see the big picture: this group fought , there’s a lot of people who stepped up throughout the year, a ton of guys took on important roles, and so there’s a lot to be proud of.

McMillan was one of them. One of the Bucs’ two third-round picks, he and Mayfield connected on seven receiving touchdowns in the final five regular-season games, tied with Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase for the most during that period. period.

“Right now it’s hard to see, but there are a lot of kids that are going to be on this list next year that have had to step up and have done great things. That should build confidence in these guys , knowing who they are as players and as men in situations of adversity, to be able to step up like they did – that’s something we can be proud of,” Mayfield said. “It just comes down to being disappointing and not making plays when we needed them the most.”

Asked if he would show the same level of kindness and encouragement to himself, Mayfield replied: “Probably not. Just some stupid stuff today that cost the team. That’s okay weigh me down for a while.”