Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield knows how big his mistake ended up being.
With 8:28 left, Tampa led 28-20 and had driven to the Falcons’ 45-yard line, near field goal range.
Three more points would have put the Buccaneers in further command, and depending on how much time was left, it might have been too much for Atlanta to overcome.
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Instead, Mayfield threw an interception to Atlanta’s Dee Alford, which re-energized the Falcons.
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On the next drive, Atlanta scored a touchdown, and although the 2-point conversion failed, the Falcons were right there, trailing by just two.
The Bucs offense then had a chance to ice the game, taking over possession with 3:34 left.
But Tampa managed just eight yards on six plays, and gave Atlanta a chance to win it.
Win it, the Falcons did, playing spoiler to a Buccaneers team that is now out of first place.
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After the game, Mayfield took responsibility.
“Make the throws,” he said. “Dee Alford got me on… it wasn’t even a disguise. It’s quarter’s coverage. He’s playing outside leverage, which is really not what he normally does on tape. Just have to go through the reads, and if it’s not there, take the damn checkdown. It’s plain and simple. So, yeah, this one’s, like I said, it’s going to beat me up for a little bit.”
After the game, Bucs coach Todd Bowles held nothing back when asked what his message to the team was.
Mayfield had no issue with it.
“He hit the nail on the head,” Mayfield said. “Questioning, does it mean anything to the guys? Does this hurt enough for you to actually make changes? To come in and do the work that you need to do. To do the things that we need to do as a team, to get better, fix these things and win ballgames. He repeated it, and it really is as simple as that. We have the talent. Talent does not get you *expletive* though. Doing the work and executing on gamedays does. And that’s… we didn’t do that today. Like I said, I did not do that.”
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For Mayfield, the issue doesn’t come in preparing during the week, but rather just not getting it done on gameday.
“Execution,” he said. “It’s not a preparation problem. Just flat-out execution. Like I said, I didn’t execute enough. When your quarterback doesn’t execute enough in a tight ballgame, you’re not going to win.”