The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are barrelling towards an uncomfortable conversation that will have to happen this offseason. Is Todd Bowles on the hot seat? Is quarterback Baker Mayfield the man for the job after all?
Mayfield had a rocky first season in Tampa Bay, which he capped off with a playoff win despite finishing just 9-8. In 2024, he went off, putting together the best season of his career and leading the Buccaneers to their first 10-win season since 2021. He kept up his hot stretch in the first six games of the 2025 season, when he had Tampa Bay sitting at 5-1 and the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Since then, Tampa Bay has been awful, and Mayfield has been one of the main culprits. In the past seven games, Tampa Bay is 2-5, with its only wins coming against the Saints and Cardinals (both three-win teams). To make matters worse, they also lost a game to the Saints, a team that has no business even being competitive against the Buccaneers.
Buccaneers need Baker Mayfield to step up before it's too late
Mayfield, during this seven-game stretch, has not played well. His completion percentage is just 57.7%, (compared to 66.2% in the first six games). He’s scored just nine touchdowns in seven games (eight passing and one rushing), and turned the ball over seven times (five interceptions and two fumbles). A 1.2:1 TD/INT ratio simply is not good enough.
The Buccaneers are not scoring enough, and Mayfield is a big reason why. In the first six games, he tossed 12 touchdowns and just one pick.
Mayfield’s passer rating is 75.0 over the past seven games. In weeks 1-6, he was at 108.5.
Mayfield's head coach, Todd Bowles, could also be on the hot seat, and it would be intriguing to see what could happen if Bowles left Tampa Bay. Would a new head coach keep Mayfield around, or trust him to lead the offense for a fourth year?
The reality is, if the Buccaneers cannot trust Mayfield to go a full season without a prolonged stretch of bad football, they will need to re-evaluate if he can be the long-term plan at the most important position. Can Tampa Bay win a Super Bowl with Mayfield under center? After week six, most would have said yes. Now, most people are probably uncertain. Some likely would say no.
The truth is, Mayfield’s future in Tampa Bay should probably come down to how he performs down the stretch. Tampa Bay can still win the NFC South. To do that, they’ll need to defeat the Panthers, probably twice, and win at least one more game. 10-7 with two wins over Carolina gets the job done. 11-6 might even be good enough to surpass Philadelphia and earn the No. 3 seed. 9-8 could even be good enough to win the division if one of those wins is against the Panthers, and the Panthers lose at least one other game.
Failing to win the division, a conversation will need to be had. The NFC South is still the easiest division in football, and if Mayfield allows the Panthers to steal it, there will need to be consequences.