Heading into Week 10, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were considered by many to be a favorite to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LX in February.
Unfortunately for the Bucs, they ran into an equally talented team on the rise from the AFC in the red-hot New England Patriots and MVP candidate Drake Maye.
Though Tampa Bay put up 371 yards of total offense and quarterback Bake Mayfield had three touchdown passes, the Bucs were on the receiving end of a humbling defeat that showed while they’re among the NFC’s top teams, they still have plenty of room for improvement.
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There’s not just one singular reason Tampa lost, but Mayfield made it clear after the game that he felt the blame fell on his offensive teammates, sending them a scathing message about the way they played on Sunday.
“What I told the team, told the offense after the game, at some point when the stuff comes up during the week, whether it’s mistakes or things we talk about, and then it shows up on Sundays, you have to have some pride about you,” Mayfield told reporters.
“You’ve got to have the fear of that failure of messing up for your teammates when we talk about something — you’ve got to have that responsibility and accountability for the guys around you and get it fixed. In tight ball games like this, when you play good teams like the Patriots, little things will get you beat.
“That was the case for us on offense today. Case in point, it starts with me. There were some throws there I’d like to have back, some completions…it starts with me, but everybody’s got to have pride about it too.”
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While Mayfield didn’t mention any players specifically, he did make it clear whatever set him off wouldn’t be tolerated going forward.
Though Mayfield threw three touchdowns, fans couldn’t help but notice Tampa Bay’s offensive lull from the second drive of the game until midway through the third quarter.
The Bucs scored a touchdown on their opening drive but had four punts and a field goal before scoring their next touchdown nearly two full periods after their first score.
The Bucs pulled to within 21-16 and forced a turnover-on-downs heading into the fourth quarter. But they mustered two punts and a turnover-on-downs before scoring their final touchdown with just 33 seconds left.
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