Baker Mayfield’s late-game collapse costs Buccaneers in brutal loss to Falcons

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost their fifth game in their last six after a devastating 29-28 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Tampa Bay has now surrendered control of the NFC South title race and frankly, they might be better off saving themselves the embarrassment against a legitimate contender in the playoffs. 

The loss felt monumental, seemingly signaling the end of this era of Bucs football and any remaining hope for this season. The loss raises a lot of questions about the team, the coaching staff, and unfortunately, the quarterback too.

Baker Mayfield played a solid game, but ultimately cost the Bucs a win with his poor performance in crunch time. With Tampa Bay leading 28-20, Mayfield threw an inexcusable interception that allowed Atlanta to get right back into the game. 

Then, with the Buccaneers needing just one first down to effectively end the game and run out the clock, Mayfield missed an open Emeka Egbuka and blew an opportunity to ice the game. Instead, the incompletion stopped the clock, giving Atlanta the extra time they needed to drive down the field and kick a game-winning field goal.

Sure, the Tampa Bay defense turned in a dreadful effort, but it was Mayfield’s costly turnover and inaccuracy when it mattered most that ultimately doomed the Buccaneers. 

After an MVP-caliber start to the season, Mayfield’s worsening performance in recent weeks is becoming a major cause for concern. In Tampa Bay’s last six games, in which they’ve lost five, Mayfield has thrown 9 touchdowns but has also thrown 5 interceptions and lost a fumble — averaging out to one turnover per game.

Between his turnovers and inaccuracy that has seen him missing open receivers multiple times per game, Mayfield’s seat is slowly heating up. The team can only go as far as Mayfield takes them, and with him playing arguably the worst football of his Bucs career, the pressure is rising. 

It’s certainly not time to press the panic button on Mayfield just yet, but the team really needs him to turn things around and get back to performing at a high level, or there might be some tough conversations to be had and decisions to be made regarding his long-term future in Tampa Bay.