It’s been hard to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play in the 1st 2 weeks of the regular season. Full stop. Hard might be the right word, though? Painful, maybe?
It’s also hard to think the winless Buccaneers haven’t looked like 1 of the NFL’s worst teams, which is equally hard to swallow considering they just made a long-term investment at quarterback with a 3-year, $165 million contract extension for Baker Mayfield.
After 2 embarrassing losses to open the year, ESPN’s Ben Solak believes the Buccaneers already deeply regret paying Mayfield.
“Mayfield has not played well through the first two games of the season,” Solak wrote on September 22. “It would have been nice to see how this season played out, to see if this two-game trend continued, before signing an extension. Mayfield and the Buccaneers looked destined for a prove-it season before the Buccaneers ‘surprised’ Mayfield with an eleventh-hour offer that clearly met his expectations. It is a three-year deal, as Mayfield wanted, though it’s really a two-year deal with a $55 million team option in 2029. Still, at $55 million per year, Mayfield is making Matthew Stafford and Trevor Lawrence sort of money … Joe Burrow and Josh Allen sort of money.”
Embarrassing Loss to Cleveland Browns in Week 2
Mayfield nuked the season-opening road loss to the Cincinnati Bengals almost single-handedly with a rash of turnovers — that was nothing compared to the embarrassment that befell the Buccaneers in a Week 2 loss to the lowly Cleveland Browns in Tampa Bay’s home opener.
To add insult to injury, Mayfield lost to Deshaun Watson, the player who replaced him on the Browns and who is widely considered the NFL’s worst starting quarterback.
So, what’s that make Mayfield?
Against the Bengals, Mayfield turned the ball over 3 times — 3 lost fumbles — with all 3 leading to points for the Bengals, including a scoop-and-score fumble recovery for a touchdown by Demetrius Knight in the 1st quarter.
Mayfield went 23-of-28 passing for 216 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. That indicates an average day. Mayfield wasn’t average. He was bad.
“Baker, actually, if you look at his stats, he had a good game,” The Ringer’s Bill Simmons said after Week 1. “But he did like 4 egregiously dumb things, and that’s what ended up getting them.”
Schedule Offers No Letup for Buccaneers
After consecutive losses to open the regular season, there are no gimmes we can point to in the remaining 15 games left on the schedule — which means the Buccaneers are already in must-win situations headed into consecutive home games in Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings and Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers.
After that, the Buccaneers get their 1st chance at a primetime game on Thursday Night Football — a road game against the Dallas Cowboys.
That’s not to say Mayfield and the offense are the only ones making mistakes right now.
“The panic meter is incredibly high with the Buccaneers,” ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky said on September 21. “Bad zone defense. Bad pressure distribution. Too soft in coverage. Poor tackling. Blown coverage. Defensively, the Bucs’ breakdowns in the second half, specifically, were so significant.”
Bucs Already ‘Regret’ Baker Mayfield’s $165 Million Contract