The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got off to a fast start in their do-or-die game against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday at Raymond James Stadium. On the game's opening possession, a strong rushing attack got the ball down to the Carolina 18, from where Baker Mayfield promptly threw an 18-yard seam pass to tight end Cade Otton for a touchdown.
After the Buccaneers' defense got off the field quickly on Carolina's first possession, the offense set off on another good drive, looking to create a quick double-digit lead. Facing a second-and-five at the Carolina 34, Mayfield dropped back to pass but couldn't find a quick target and was chased out of the pocket to the right. That worked out just fine, as the quarterback easily got to the sticks, but he wasn't satisfied with just another first down. In this case, as he and Panthers cornerback Michael Jackson arrived at the sideline at the same time, Mayfield lowered his shoulder and powered his way through the defender for a gain of eight.
It was definitely a play that stirred emotions on the field, as evidenced by the 15-yard taunting penalty Jackson drew for getting in Mayfield's face immediately after the whistle. Mayfield didn't back down, but he didn't draw a flag either, so it was a double-win for the Bucs' passer. The penalty took the ball down to the 13 and the Bucs capitalized with a field goal for a 10-0 lead. They would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way.
Mayfield scrambled four times for 31 yards in the game and didn't seem to be in a sliding mood, rather absorbing – or creating – hard contact at the end of most of them. Head Coach Todd Bowles might not have wanted his quarterback to put his body in danger so many times in a midseason game, but with the Bucs' season on the line he understood Mayfield's inclination to light a fire under his team.
"Baker initiated a lot of those hits, so he wanted the contact, and he wanted the action," said Bowles. "It was his way of getting guys going and getting everything together. That's how he plays and we [have] to let him play. If it was probably the middle of the season, I don't know if he takes those hits like that."
When asked postgame about the sequence, Mayfield smiled silently for a second and nodded his head before answering.
"There is always a little intention behind my really try-hard effort," he said, simply.
Mayfield said he didn't start the conversation with Jackson, but he was more than willing to answer the taunt. He knows he can occasionally get under the opposition's skin, sometimes in a way that helps his squad.
"I didn't say anything," said Mayfield. "He told me not to run from it and I told him, 'I absolutely did not.' I didn't get the penalty, he did.
"There is a fine line. You want to be annoying but not cross the line."
Mayfield's 31 rushing yards on the evening pushed his final regular-season total to 382, four more than last year to set his single-season career high for a second year in a row. Coming into the final weekend, he ranked second among all NFL quarterbacks in first-down conversion rate when running on third down. His scrambles this season have both preserved many critical drives andfrequently fired up his teammates. That was the case again on Saturday, when he set the tone for his squad in what Bowles described as a "hard-fought" game by both sides.
"I saw a 'dawg' out there," said tackle Tristan Wirfs. "Week-in, week-out, I think 'Six' comes to play. He wants to put the team on his back and do what he does best. So that's what he is. He's an incredible teammate, incredible player. [I'm] super, super happy to have him on our team, that's for sure."
