Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Baker Mayfield Awes Teammates with MVP-Caliber Play

Baker Mayfield's growing MVP buzz went to another level in Sunday's win over the 49ers when he authored a third-down scramble for the ages and prompted his teammates to sing his praises

Oct 13, 2025 at 09:56 AM

Scott Smith

Senior Writer/Editor

Sterling Shepard admits he got caught up in the moment.

Facing a third-and-14 with four minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lined up in a three-receiver set with tight end Cade Otton going in motion from right to left, which left Shepard alone on the right side. At the snap, he ran what ended up being a shallow, meandering route while the pocket collapsed on quarterback Baker Mayfield. When Mayfield somehow emerged from a scrum of huge human beings, Shepard took off downfield on a scramble drill. After that he became a spectator.

As did 62,000-plus fans as Mayfield added to his growing resume of ridiculously clutch plays in 2025, many of them on the ground. Mayfield got out of a near-sack, dashed forward, ran around one San Francisco defender and fought his way through another, at the last second extending his arm with the football past the line to gain. Mayfield has chosen the right moments to scramble for first downs almost unerringly this season, but his effort on this play was almost beyond belief.

"That was unreal," said Shepard. "And you know what? I caught myself watching a little bit too much. I should have [gone] to go block somebody, but I saw him see that first down. And when he sees that first down, he goes to go get it. So proud of him in the way that he's been playing. We're going to need him doing that type of stuff, so that was big."

The Raymond James Stadium crowd erupted in, "MVP! MVP!" chants after the play, and two snaps later Mayfield added some evidence to that claim with a 45-yard touchdown bomb to rookie wideout Tez Johnson. Mayfield is well into his third outstanding season since joining the Buccaneers, but the former 2018 first-overall pick went through some adversity before arriving in Tampa. Shepard, who was also Mayfield's teammate at the University of Oklahoma, loved hearing the crowd shower praise on his quarterback.

"It means a lot," said Shepard. "He was bouncing around a bit there – he couldn't really find a home. And that just shows you [what can happen] when somebody believes in you and has confidence in you – that gives you confidence on game day, and he's playing with a bunch of confidence. We all believe in him and I'm just happy for his situation here. I'm looking forward to all the special things that he's going to do this season."

All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs ended up as a spectator for most of that scramble as well, and felt like he was part of the reason the play broke down. It wasn't an ideal beginning to a third-and-long play, but Wirfs appreciates how often Mayfield turns such situations into something positive.

"It's awesome," said Wirfs. "We all love Baker to death. We know what he does for this team – we know what he comes out and does every week. I actually got him hit on that third-and-14, and he got out of it. I was like, 'Holy crap.' And then [to] watch him go and pick up 15 yards and stretch for a first down… To watch Baker go to work every week is incredible. We love him to death. We love Baker. He is a dawg – I say it week-in and week-out. Him putting us on his back every week and doing his thing is incredible to watch."

Head Coach Todd Bowles said he was "in disbelief just like everybody else" after Mayfield's scramble. He called the play yet another example of his quarterback coming up with a game-changing play that gave the team new hope.

"I mean it was huge," said Bowles. "Every time something happens [that is] negative, he makes it a positive and he does something to give everybody hope and that run was one of them."

After throwing two touchdown passes against the 49ers on Sunday, Mayfield now has a 12-1 TD-INT ratio and a 108.5 passer rating. His late-game heroics helped the Bucs get to 4-1 with four games won on a score in the final minute of regulation, and now his viral scramble in Week Six gave his team a chance to pull away from another top NFC contender. The MVP chants were unmistakable, but unlike his teammates Mayfield downplayed that part of the conversation after the game.

"It's Week Six," said Mayfield, noting that the Bucs have another critical game against a top NFC contender next Monday night in Detroit. "So, got a big one next week. It's awesome to have the support, don't get me wrong, but we're just getting started."

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