Baker Mayfield threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Thursday night loss to the Atlanta Falcons, guiding the offense to 28 points and 28 first downs. It was his most productive outing since Week 10, when he threw for 273 yards and three scores against New England.
After the game, however, Mayfield focused on two passes that didn't produce the desired results. One was an interception by cornerback Dee Alford in the fourth quarter when the Bucs had an eight-point lead and the ball in Falcons territory. The other was a throw over the middle to Emeka Egbuka that, if delivered a little more in front of the receiver might have allowed the Buccaneers to run out the clock rather than give the ball back to Atlanta one more time.
After the game, Mayfield faced the media and said the outcome fell on his shoulders and that it would "haunt" him for a long time. On Friday morning, Head Coach Todd Bowles spoke appreciatively of how his quarterback reacted to the loss, which knocked the Buccaneers out of first place in the NFC South.
"Well, he's taking responsibility as one of our leaders," said Bowles. "Obviously, you don't want the turnover, but he can look himself in the mirror and be honest with himself and, you know, coaches and players have to do that alike. That's what makes him who he is. So, if everybody did that, we would figure out our problems [really] quick.
"So, I think it's an eye-opener for a lot of guys and a lot of coaches on this team. So, if we can come back Monday and look in the mirror and everybody can work on the little things, I think that'll carry us the rest of the way. What he said was very honest and very true."
After the game, Bowles was harsh in his assessment of the team's execution, calling the defensive miscues in the fourth quarter that led to the surrender of a 14-point lead "inexcusable." However, the Buccaneers still have a chance to win their fifth straight division title thanks to two upcoming games against the Carolina Panthers, who are currently a half-game up in the standings pending their game in New Orleans on Sunday. Mayfield's display of accountability is something Bowles hopes will draw the whole team together in a difficult situation.
"[It is] very frustrating thus far," he said. "You can do it all right in practice all week. You can do it in the game right four out of five times and on the fifth time, we don't play it right, and that's frustrating. That's very frustrating as a coach – very frustrating as a player, I'm sure – but we're all in this together. So, it starts with me. I've got to do a better job. They've got to do a better job, and we have to somehow scratch and claw and find a way to make this thing work."
The Buccaneers now get a "mini-bye" over a long weekend, which obviously would have been a more enjoyable experience with a win. Bowles hopes his team comes back to work in the right frame of mind when Week 16 begins on Monday.
"We've got to regroup this weekend," he said. "We've got to come back Monday and we've just got to take it one day at a time, one play at a time. Look, when you don't play well, it's the coaches and the players. When you don't coach well, it's the coaches and the players. So, we've got to come back with the attitude and just try to do the little things right. We just want to work on the little things. If we can do those, we feel like we give ourselves a chance to win. We've just got to go from practice to the game."
