TAMPA, Fla. — If there’s ever a time when the mettle of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield might be examined, it’s now. Over the previous two seasons, the previous No. 1 decide has created one of many NFL’s finest redemption arcs in latest reminiscence.
Mayfield, 29, discovered himself a house in Tampa, led the Bucs to a division title in 2023 and entered Week 9 main the NFL with 21 landing passes and 23 whole touchdowns.
But, within the midst of probably the most arduous stretch of their season, the Bucs (4-4) have misplaced three of their previous 4 and face what Mayfield known as a “crucial recreation” in opposition to the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs — the league’s final unbeaten group — on Monday (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC). They usually’ll be with out the franchise’s all-time receiving leaders in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
Mayfield did not mince phrases the night time that each had been injured in Week 7, having already gone to the coaching room to consolation them earlier than telling reporters, “This totally sucks.”
Nonetheless, Mayfield is decided to make this work. You can see it in his face, as he spent nearly all of that postgame information convention despondent and in disbelief. After which his voice picked up, as if he all of a sudden discovered his resolve.
“There is no such thing as a different manner round it,” Mayfield stated. “[We’re] going to should look this factor within the face and take it head on.”
The accidents to Godwin and Evans occurred in a single fell swoop, internet hosting the Baltimore Ravens on “Monday Evening Soccer.” Godwin sustained a dislocated left ankle and underwent surgical procedure final week, with a glimmer of hope that he might return for the postseason.
“That was actually powerful. That was a tough factor to see,” left sort out Tristan Wirfs stated. “We love them to dying. … Our hearts are damaged for him. However we have to maneuver ahead.”
Evans sustained what coach Todd Bowles known as a “average” hamstring pressure and is anticipated again after the Week 11 bye — a timeline Evans and the group stated is on observe.
“We now have to return collectively as a group, and clearly in an atmosphere like we’re heading into on a Monday night time in Kansas Metropolis, we all know what we will get,” Mayfield stated. “It is execution, do the little issues proper, play the sphere place recreation and see what occurs. We now have the veterans, we have now the management we have to make this factor work and that is — [the] season is just not over. We’re not even midway accomplished.”
THE BUCS ARE 1-4 since 2017 in video games by which neither Evans nor Godwin performed, a troubling development for a group vying for a fourth straight division title. They’re making an attempt to get past the divisional spherical of the playoffs as nicely, which they have not accomplished since their Tremendous Bowl season in 2020. It is one thing the group talked about all summer season. It is also one thing Mayfield has but to do in his profession.
They may depend on a late-season push just like the one they made final season, however they bought assist from a weak NFC South and a tiebreaker over the New Orleans Saints. It additionally does not assist that they’ve already been swept by the division-leading Atlanta Falcons.
“It was a tough factor to do, however we got here out of it,” Wirfs stated of final season. “We might have simply been like, ‘Yeah, the season’s over.’ However we did not. We rallied collectively, fought again, scratched and clawed and made a playoff push.”
Rookie middle Graham Barton stated he is leaning on the veterans and what they gleaned from final season and in prior years.
“It is a resilient group,” Barton stated. “We’re simply going to place our heads down and return to work. That is all we all know. That is all we will do.”
There have been no upgrades for Mayfield on the offensive aspect of the ball forward of Tuesday’s commerce deadline, because the Bucs have stood pat with the younger gamers on their roster.
Of their 31-26 loss to the Falcons final week, Mayfield relied closely on screens and the bottom recreation along with his working backs. Bucky Irving, Rachaad White and Sean Tucker caught a mixed 13 passes for 90 receiving and a landing from White, whereas the group — which included a 17-yard pickup from rookie receiver Jalen McMillan — rushed for 93 yards.
Tight finish Cade Otton has picked up the slack within the passing recreation. He caught 9 of 10 targets for 81 receiving yards and two touchdowns in Week 8.
Mayfield will probably lean on Otton once more this week, because the Chiefs’ 80.86 yards given as much as opposing tight ends is probably the most by any group within the league coming into the week.
“When we have now Mike and Chris on the market, the offense simply appears totally different,” Mayfield stated. “You are scheming issues up for these guys. And Cade does a whole lot of the soiled work and so proper now, Cade’s having the ability to showcase his bodily expertise, and he is such a wise soccer participant, unselfish man. … You are seeing him thrive due to that.”
Offensive coordinator Liam Coen stated he thought Mayfield “dealt with it rather well.”
“I imply, for those who take a look at him, he is throwing an out-cut to Cade as a single receiver on a 3rd down — we hadn’t accomplished that a lot this yr; that wasn’t one thing we actually dialed up,” Coen stated. “We had these routes again there prior to now, however it wasn’t actually a part of our thought course of, however he goes and he simply takes it.”
The Bucs additionally bought contributions within the second half from receiver Rakim Jarrett, who had three catches for 58 receiving yards in his season debut after being sidelined by offseason knee surgical procedure. In his return he confirmed he could be a true downfield risk for Mayfield.
“We’re not simply Mike and Chris replacements — we’re NFL gamers too, and we’re making an attempt to go make a reputation for ourselves,” Jarrett stated. “Clearly we’re not going to take the roles on as Mike and CG did — however I feel we have now playmakers that folks simply have not heard about.
“That is in all probability why individuals are saying what they’re saying about us proper now, so we simply bought to go on the market and maintain proving them unsuitable.”
Like Mayfield, Jarrett thrives on adversity.
“I used to be undrafted,” Jarrett stated. “It was 250 picks, and I wasn’t one, so I take a look at it as me being within the NFL, I’m counted out, so we simply take it daily and exit and do our jobs.”
And McMillan, one of many Bucs’ two third-round draft picks this yr, continues to attempt to step up after a quiet begin — which included lacking two video games due to a hamstring pressure. He is now catching 150-160 passes every day after follow with a Jugs machine, a routine Godwin gave him.
Within the second quarter, he was large open on what would have been a landing because the Falcons had a protection bust. McMillan stated it was his error.
“That was on me,” McMillan stated. “I used to be working that route off steps. I used to be alleged to go removed from outdoors. We simply did not join on it. That simply comes with reps and confidence. We’ll get it proper. We now have gotten it proper, and I simply can’t await the following rep we get on that very same play.”
MAYFIELD’S INTERCEPTION NUMBERS have gone up, as he enters Week 9 tied for probably the most at 9 with the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Inexperienced Bay Packers’ Jordan Love.
“There’s all the time a fantastic line of balancing the aggression and defending the soccer, and when you have got your pictures, you bought to benefit from them,” Mayfield stated. “But when they are not there, do the identical factor, test it down, get out of the play, transfer on to the following down and stay to play one other down.
“It pisses me off. I do not wish to flip the ball over. To me, that is taking pictures our entire group within the foot.”
On high of dropping Evans and Godwin, Mayfield faces extra strain due to the protection’s latest struggles. After the Bucs began the season 3-1 and didn’t permit an opponent to attain greater than 26 factors in a recreation, they’ve surrendered 27 factors or extra in every of their previous 4 video games.
“We’re making strides, and we will make 62 good performs and 5 unhealthy performs and it goes haywire,” Bowles stated. “We bought to chop out the unhealthy performs. We perceive that. We’re engaged on it day by day. In the event you minimize out the unhealthy performs and play the remainder of the sport, we’ll be OK. We simply bought to chop out the unhealthy ones.”
At their worst level final season, the Bucs had been 4-7. They received 5 of their final six video games. Evans had 4 touchdowns in these video games, and he and Godwin mixed for 823 receiving yards.
Mayfield squeaked to the end line with some badly bruised ribs earlier than exploding into the playoffs with a 32-9 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bucs misplaced to the Detroit Lions within the divisional spherical 31-23. In these two postseason video games, Evans had 195 receiving yards, Godwin had 85 and Otton added 154, with all three scoring touchdowns.
After all, they have to get there first in the event that they wish to attempt to replicate or exceed that, with more durable odds this go round. However they’re all ready to rally round their chief and one another.
“All of us should decide when adversity hits — you both collapse or come collectively and do no matter you possibly can to get previous it,” Otton stated. “I feel the fellows on this group — whether or not it is life or soccer — aren’t any strangers to adversity. We now have to be keen to face it and work onerous by it — that is the one manner. I do know we will do it.”
