Baker Mayfield puts Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates | Sports News

Baker Mayfield did not sugarcoat the post-game message that he delivered to his Buccaneers teammate after Sunday evening.

Moments after Tampa Bay‘s 28-23 loss to the New England Patriots, the veteran quarterback gathered his offense and instructed them precisely what he thought of their effort and their ranges of accountability. It wasn’t the message he meant to ship to his teammates after his declaration of hatred for the Saints resulted in a 23-3 victory simply a week earlier.

The Bucs dropped to 6-3 and remained atop the NFC South, however Mayfield sought most ranges of accountability following the staff’s efficiency. “What I told the team, told the offense after the game, at some point when the stuff comes up during the week… whether it’s mistakes or things we talk about. And then it shows up on Sundays, you have to have some pride about you.”

Mayfield’s deal with gameday has been so intense that he is blocked coaches on his cellphone to remain locked in.

“You’ve got to have the fear of that failure of messing up for your teammates when we talk about something,” he continued. “You’ve got to have that responsibility and accountability for the guys around you and get it fixed. In tight ball games like this, when you play good teams like the Patriots, little things will get you beat.”

Then he pointed the finger at himself. “That was the case for us on offense today. Case in point, it starts with me. There were some throws there I’d like to have back, some completions… it starts with me, but everybody’s got to have pride about it too.”

Mayfield went 28 of 43 for 273 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, earning a 106.1 rating and a 58.1 QBR, despite taking two sacks. But Tampa’s main problems stemmed from elsewhere, with six penalties, a 3-for-13 success rate on third down, and a 0-for-1 record on fourth down.

The Bucs began aggressively with a touchdown on their first drive, but then slowed for nearly two quarters. They punted four times and only added one field goal afterward.

After reducing the score to 21-16 and forcing a turnover on downs, their offense slowed significantly, punting twice more and failing on a fourth-down try. Mayfield drove late in the game, culminating in an 11-yard touchdown pass to rookie Tez Johnson with only 33 seconds remaining.

The Patriots overwhelmed Tampa’s front seven with TreVeyon Henderson making long touchdown runs of 69 and 55 yards. Missed tackles and poorly coordinated gaps turned what could have been simple plays into costly mistakes, and the group struggled to correct its glaring issues.

Mayfield’s leadership style has consistently been direct and straightforward. Rob Gronkowski once described him as “the last word teammate” after he initially signed with Tampa Bay following Tom Brady’s retirement.

In 9 video games this season, Mayfield has handed for two,192 yards (rating tenth within the NFL), 16 touchdowns (tied for eleventh), and solely two interceptions (tied for thirty ninth). He has fumbled six instances, contributing to a staff complete of 9, whereas Tampa’s receivers have dropped 14 passes and the protection has missed 8 % of its tackles.

The Bucs proceed to guide their division, however their benefit is narrowing. Up subsequent is a Week 11 recreation in Buffalo, then a primetime match towards the Rams, and an important NFC South finale with two video games every towards New Orleans, Atlanta, and Carolina.