Monday night’s game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens started out pretty well for Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield, as he guided his team to a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
But it went south from there, as he threw two interceptions and saw his squad trail by as many as 23 points.
The 41-31 final score wasn’t indicative of how lopsided Monday’s loss was for the Buccaneers, especially given the fact they lost both their main wide receiver threats — Chris Godwin and Mike Evans — to injury.
Analyst Ben Maller said on Fox Sports Radio that he believes Mayfield is regressing.
🎙@benmaller: “Bakers regression is happening in front of my schnoz…We have seen this mistake-prone version that left the Browns in a cloud of dust.” pic.twitter.com/jlRbIT0hUq
— FOX Sports Radio (@FoxSportsRadio) October 22, 2024
Mayfield was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft by the Cleveland Browns, and some believed he would be the Browns’ savior after decades of bad fortune.
But he never put it together for them in four seasons with them, and he was traded to the Carolina Panthers in the 2022 offseason.
After subpar stints with the Panthers and Los Angeles Rams during the 2022 season, he made his way to Tampa Bay, and it looked like his final opportunity to prove himself.
And prove himself he did, as he threw for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns and earned his first Pro Bowl nod while leading the Bucs to an NFC South title and a blowout win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
This year, Mayfield has thrown 18 touchdown passes and has completed 70.5 percent of his pass attempts, but he also has seven interceptions through seven games.
With a 4-3 record, Tampa Bay is tied with the Atlanta Falcons for the best record in the division, but Atlanta holds the tiebreaker since they defeated Tampa Bay in Week 5.
