The Tampa Bay Buccaneers appeared to gain control of their wild card game against the Washington Commanders. Their defense came up with a crucial goal-line stand – stopping two goal-to-go plays from the 1-yard line – while leading 17-13 early in the fourth quarter and forcing a turnover on downs.
However, Tampa Bay’s offense failed to capitalize on its defense’s success. Just four plays after the defensive stand, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield and wide receiver Jalen McMillan failed to connect on a simple jet sweep run.
The ball hit the turf and was recovered by Commanders veteran Bobby Wagner, setting the Washington offense up with its best field position of the day and swinging momentum in their favor. The Commanders scored on the drive, which helped them earn a 23-20 win over the Buccaneers.
Mayfield was credited with the fumble – which was the game’s lone turnover of the traditional variety – and he accepted responsibility for the critical error during a postgame news conference.
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‘That comes back to me, just timing it up correctly,’ Mayfield said. ‘First one all year that it happened on. So obviously the timing of it not great, being backed up. Defense had done a hell of a job getting us the ball, another fourth-down stop and yeah, unfortunate, but that falls on me.’
Fumbles were one of Mayfield’s bugaboo’s during the 2024 NFL season – his 13 were tied for the most in the league with benched Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins – but the turnover wasn’t the only mistake his unit made in the fourth quarter.
Tampa Bay also had a chance to convert a third-and-1 from the Washington 14-yard line with just under six minutes in regulation. A first down would have given the Buccaneers a chance to position themselves for a late, go-ahead touchdown.
Instead, rookie center Graham Barton snapped the ball early because he thought a player jumped offsides, as Mayfield detailed after the game. Few moved at the start of the snap as a result, and Bucky Irving was tackled for a 2-yard loss on the play. That forced Tampa Bay to settle for a game-tying field goal, after which they never got the ball back.
That’s why Mayfield felt like the game ‘just came down to errors on the offense,’ for which he took blame.
‘Just some dumb stuff today that cost the team,’ Mayfield said when analyzing his performance. ‘That’s going to wear on me for a while.’
Despite the team’s ‘disappointing’ end to the season Mayfield expressed confidence that the Buccaneers are on the right track after making the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season.
‘I believe we have the talent, the coaching staff and everybody around us to be able to go far,’ Mayfield said. ‘But looking back, trying to take a step back, big picture – this group fought, there was a lot of people that stepped up throughout the year, a ton of guys that stepped up into huge roles, and so there’s a lot to be proud of.
‘In this moment that’s hard to see,’ Mayfield added. ‘but there’s a lot of young guys that are going to be on this roster next year that had to step up and did in a big way. That should build confidence in those guys, knowing who they are as players and as men in adversity situations, to be able to step up like they did – that’s something to be proud of. It just goes back to being disappointing and not making the plays when we needed it the most.’
Baker Mayfield stats vs. Commanders
Mayfield may have been disappointed with his performance, but he still posted strong numbers during the contest. He completed 15-of-18 passes (83.3%) for 185 yards and two touchdowns. That was good for a 146.5 passer rating while he added 23 rushing yards on seven carries.
The lone blight on Mayfield’s stat line was the fumble. He will have an entire offseason to rue that play as he looks to prepare the Buccaneers for a deep postseason run next year.