In one of the more “Glass Half Empty” arguments you’ll hear this football season, there is a case to be made for not being totally enamored with quarterbacks who seem to consistently engineer fourth quarter comebacks. Which certainly sounds crazy on the surface.
The problem with a quarterback who always seems to be rallying his team late, from one point of view, is that same quarterback is always behind late in games.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell pointed out as much about Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, albeit Barnwell did so while he was also evaluating NFL Most Valuable Player candidates.
And then there’s Baker Mayfield, who led three consecutive last-minute victories to start the season before nearly leading the Buccaneers back for a fourth against the Eagles,” Barnwell wrote on October 2. “Mayfield has been great in those moments, and his scrambling has both bailed the Bucs out in key spots and earned him second place in the quarterback rushing EPA ranks. But one of the reasons the Buccaneers have been in position to require those comebacks has been an inconsistent offense early in their contests. Mayfield is 22nd in QBR in the first half of games and 11th across the final two quarters.”
Mayfield, Buccaneers Could Be Exposed Quickly
The Buccaneers are about to be battling both injuries and a murderer’s row of games in the coming weeks. Things look bad enough that Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon thinks Tampa Bay’s season might be about to go off a cliff.
“We figured they’d be exposed as a pretender during a rough stretch against Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco and Detroit,” Gagnon wrote on October 3. One home loss to the Eagles down, three difficult tests to come. They did make a spirited comeback effort against the defending Super Bowl champs, but injuries, miscues (they finally turned it over twice in Week 4) and penalties are a major factor. At least the division is super weak, again.”
On offense, the Buccaneers are simply coming apart at the seams.
No less than 5 projected starters will be out when they travel to play the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5; offensive guard Cody Mauch, offensive tackle Luke Goedeke, wide receiver Mike Evans, wide receiver Jalen McMillan and running back Bucky Irving.
Mauch is out for the season. McMillan won’t be back until at least Week 10.
Massive Payday At Stake For Mayfield
It’s not a stretch to say Mayfield is playing for essentially untold riches in 2025.
With another Pro Bowl season — he’s made it each of the last 2 years — he could be in line for a contract extension that could make him one of the highest paid players in NFL history.
Currently in the second year of a 3-year, $100 million contract — a bargain for a player of his caliber — if Mayfield can somehow gut out a 2-2 record over the previously mentioned 4-game stretch, there’s a brief respite with games against the 0-4 New Orleans Saints in Week 8 and the 2-2 New England Patriots in Week 10 sandwiched around a bye in Week 9.
Over the last 2 years, Mayfield has even outpaced reigning NFL MVP and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen in the passing game — in that time Mayfield has 74 touchdown passes to 59 for Allen.
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