Nobody can say that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a weak team. In fact, the team has shown plenty of grit through four games thus far.
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Still, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield expects more of himself and the team, and he sounded off on the issues on Sunday that led to a tough loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Buccaneers dropped their first loss of the season to the Eagles with a final score of 31-25. Mayfield and company did not look like their normal selves, and it could have been due to the suffocating Philly defense.
Mayfield was sacked twice and hit three times. He also fumbled the ball once, as did Bucky Irving. In Irving’s case, the Eagles recovered the ball.
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Mayfield also threw a costly interception late in the fourth quarter, which all but sealed the game for the Eagles. There were clearly plenty of struggles, leading to the Buccaneers’ signal caller sounding off on the issues.
Mayfield spoke to reporters following the loss, claiming the team should be “pissed off” due to the slow start. Oddly enough, the Buccaneers are currently 3-1 on the season, but the issues in the loss were enough for the quarterback to vent about the struggles.
“Our guys are gonna fight, and Lavonte hit on it post game with everybody, and couldn’t have said it better myself. This group’s too damn good to start slow, and until we take accountability for that, it should piss us off. Even though it’s Week 4, this should piss us off. We’ve talked about starting fast, playing better ball, and we did not do that today,” Mayfield stated.
The slow start that Mayfield is alluding to has to do with the Buccaneers only scoring two field goals through the first half, and scoring their first touchdown well into the third quarter. The team simply could not keep pace with the Eagles, and miscues led to the loss.
Tampa Bay should bounce back, but Mayfield’s words go to show the level of passion and the culture change he has been driving since he arrived. He has experienced a resurgence with the Buccaneers, and sounding off on a tough loss is just who he is.
The Buccaneers can rebound in Week 5 when they take on the Seattle Seahawks.