Baker Mayfield has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the precipice of a third straight NFC South title.
With a win on Sunday over the New Orleans Saints, the Bucs would clinch the division and make their fourth consecutive playoff appearance -- the only NFC team to do so. In a season most expected a rebuild after Tom Brady's retirement, Mayfield has Tampa on the precipice of a playoff return. Even with a loss Sunday, the Bucs have a 67% chance to make the postseason, per Next Gen Stats, needing to win only one of its final two games to clinch the division.
"It means a ton just to be able to possibly do it at home, and against a divisional opponent, as well," Mayfield said on Wednesday of the prospects of winning the division, via the team's official transcript. "It should be a great atmosphere. The things we've had to do and go through to get to this point -- it means quite a bit when you look at having to rattle off this many in a row and having to do it again at home. It's a great opportunity for us and just the beginning of where we eventually want to get to."
The journey has been fraught with massive ebbs and flows. A 3-1 start to the season turned to 4-7 after losing six of seven tilts. But a four-game win streak has the Bucs back on track.
With a win over New Orleans, Mayfield would do something with Tampa that Brady never did in the regular season: win five straight games. The Bucs haven't won five consecutive games in the same regular season since Weeks 10-14, 2016, with Jameis Winston at the helm.
Much like the Bucs season, Mayfield's career has experienced heavy pitching in rough waters. He burst onto the scene as a rookie with the Browns, eventually leading them to the postseason in 2020, but quickly washed out of Cleveland. Last year, he was traded to Carolina, where he lasted just six starts before requesting his release last December. Mayfield found new life in Los Angeles under Sean McVay, starting four tilts for the Rams.
In the offseason, Mayfield signed a low-cost one-year $4 million prove-it deal. He's proven it in every way.Â
"Obviously, free agency allowed me to pick the organizational stability and knowing what it is here," Mayfield said on Wednesday. "That's what you look for when you have an opportunity to choose. You look for that and then you do the best you can and make the most of it. Right now, I'm just trying to take it one game at a time, like I've mentioned the past few weeks, and just see where it goes."
With another win, he'll meet more incentives to boost his 2023 earnings, including $1 million for making the postseason. Â
Mayfield is averaging 239.9 passing yards per game with 26 TDs to eight TDs and currently sits with a career-high 96.2 passer rating.
The QB's play has been the leading cause of the Bucs resurgence. In the first 13 weeks, Mayfield had 18 TD passes with eight INTs as the offense scored 19.4 points per game. In the past three contests, the QB has eight passing TDs with zero INTs, as Tampa has scored 31.0 points per game. Toss in Mayfield's improved pocket presence, and an occasional run where he attempts to plow over a defender, and the Bucs have themselves a leader.
"I just think that's who he is. That's the kind of guy he is," Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday. "He doesn't have to put on a façade to go out there and be a leader. He does the things he normally does. He leads by example – sometimes he leads by vocality and he talks it. He leads by actions, as well. The type of guy he is is energized every day, motivated every day, focused every day and everybody sees that. He makes it easy to play for and easy to follow."
Mayfield's play has him in the discussion for AP Comeback Player of the Year -- an amorphous award that can go to a player "coming back" from just about anything (Geno Smith won last year for coming back from the bench).
"It's humbling. It's an honor," Mayfield said of being discussed for the award. "It's kind of a big-picture mindset -- if I take a step back and really look at it -- of all the things that I've had to weather in the last year. It really speaks volumes to this place right here. To be able to come in and be myself and be the best version of myself, they've allowed me to do that. That's been the best reason."
The Bucs are on the doorstep of a postseason berth in a season in which they incurred $81.5 million in dead money -- including $35 million from Brady's deal. A lot of the reason for that success goes to young players playing well -- like rookie linebacker YaYa Diaby. But the biggest piece of the puzzle is a $4 million QB playing better than some $37 million QBs.
