The past nine games have been an eye-opening experience for Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans. After watching Baker Mayfield play like the league MVP in September and early October, Bucs fans are now shaking their heads in agony. What happened to Baker Mayfield?
Mayfield was excellent when he was missing Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Now, he has a fully healthy team of weapons. All of his receivers are healthy, including Godwin and Jalen McMillan. His running backs are healthy. His offensive line is healthy. And yet Mayfield has consistently been awful since Tampa Bay won its fifth game.
How bad has Mayfield been in the past nine games? Let's take a look at where he ranks in some key stats since October 14th (the past ten weeks of the season).
Since October 14th, there are 22 quarterbacks who have played in at least eight games. Mayfield finds himself 18th in passing yards, with 1,605 yards in nine starts. The only quarterbacks behind him are Bryce Young (who missed a start to injury), Lamar Jackson (who has missed portions of games due to injury), Tua Tagovailoa (who was benched), and Geno Smith (who missed a start to injury).
In fact, Mayfield's 178.3 yards-per-game is the worst mark of any quarterback who has appeared in at least eight games in the past ten weeks.
Okay, so he hasn't been throwing for many yards. What about the other stats?
Mayfield's completion percentage of 58.5% is 21st among the 22 full-time passers over the past ten weeks, ahead of only Caleb Williams. His average yards-per-attempt is dead last, at just 5.7 YPA. Every other starter is above 6 YPA, even Smith (6.4) and rookie Cam Ward (6).
Passer rating again tells a sad story for Mayfield, as he is dead last among the 22 full-time starters since October 14th, with a rating of 77.2. His rating is a full five points below the next-worst starter, which happens to be former MVP Patrick Mahomes, at 82.7.
Mayfield's 11 touchdown passes are tied at 15th, alongside Mahomes, Smith, and Young. His 3.9% touchdown rate is 19th, ahead of only Mahomes, Ward, and rookie Tyler Shough. Meanwhile, Mayfield's 2.5% interception rate is the sixth-highest in the league, and his seven picks are tied for the sixth most since October 14th.
Wins are also a quarterback stat, and Mayfield only has two of them over his past nine starts. He has nine losses, tied with Jaxson Dart and Cam Ward (on the Titans and Giants) for the second-most losses since October 14th. The only quarterbacks with more losses in that stretch are Smith (on the Raiders) and Jacoby Brissett (on the Cardinals), who have each lost eight games.
Mayfield should not be losing games at the same rate as the worst teams in the league. The Buccaneers are a far more talented team than the Giants, Titans, Raiders, and Cardinals, yet Mayfield is playing as badly as any quarterback in the league, and Tampa Bay can't seem to buy a win to save their season.
Tampa Bay will have to look themselves in the mirror to decide if Mayfield is really the player they want leading them into the future. After costing his team a win and a potential playoff spot by throwing one of the worst interceptions of his career yesterday against the Panthers, it's worth wondering if he has any magic left in him.