When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers square off with the Panthers this weekend, it is clear they'll be in desperate need of a victory. The Bucs and Panthers are tied atop the NFC South at 7-7, and whoever wins their showdown on Sunday will be in the driver's seat to win the division and make a playoff appearance.
That makes it essential for Baker Mayfield to outplay Bryce Young and claim dominance of the NFC South for Tampa Bay. A few months ago, when Mayfield was in the MVP conversation and Young was barely holding on to a starting job, that would not have seemed like such a tall order.
However, the roles have since reversed. In their past eight games, Mayfield is 2-6 with a 77 passer rating and a 57.4% completion percentage. He's scored 11 touchdowns and turned the ball over eight times in those eight games, not exactly the type of stat line that screams "winning football."
Meanwhile, Young has been slowly improving, and while he's still very inconsistent (just look at last week's loss against the Saints), he's a better quarterback than people give him credit for.
In his past nine starts, Young is 6-3 with a 95.1 passer rating. He's thrown 14 touchdowns and turned the ball over eight times. Still not an incredible stat line, but certainly better than Mayfield's in the same timespan.
For his sake, and for the sake of the Buccaneers' NFC South title hopes, Mayfield needs to reassert his dominance in the division. In 2023 and 2024, Mayfield was the undisputed top passer in the division, despite not being a consensus top-10 quarterback in the league. That's the benefit of playing in a division that has included mostly rookies (Young, Michael Penix Jr, Spencer Rattler, Tyler Shough) or veterans well past their prime (Kirk Cousins, Andy Dalton, Derek Carr).
Now, Young is challenging Mayfield. He's outplayed him for the past month, and whether or not it has something to do with Mayfield's injuries, it's something that could be a real problem if left unaddressed. For Mayfield's sake, he needs to put the questions to rest. Mayfield is still the most talented quarterback in the NFC South, and he plays on the best roster in the division. It's time to go out and prove it.