I’ll Get This Group Ready

Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield has taken ownership all season long when Tampa Bay has lost and made mistakes. All they’ve done is lose over the last two months having dropped seven of eight games and losing four in a row. Yet some how, some way, the Buccaneers are playing for the division championship next week at home against Carolina.

“We’ve been blessed with a chance next week, and guys need to handle it the right way,” Baker Mayfield said after Tampa Bay’s 20-17 loss to the Dolphins. “This is our last chance and it’s blatantly obvious. There are no more regular season games on the schedule. We have this one back at home and it comes down to execution. Players have to deliver.”

Baker Mayfield Needs To Pick Up His Play For Bucs To Succeed

Baker Mayfield surely needs to look in the mirror as well. Tampa Bay’s quarterback had three turnovers last game including an interception with under four minutes to go that essentially sealed the deal for a chance to come back and win. That’s four games in a row where Baker Mayfield has thrown an interception. All of them except for the first of his two interceptions on Sunday have come in the second half of games. The last three games have seen Mayfield throw a pick in the fourth quarter.

There’s no question that Mayfield has struggled down the stretch and its coincided with Tampa Bay’s losing streak. But a trademark of Mayfield’s game is resiliency, grit, and picking it up when the tough gets going. Mayfield is no stranger to must-win games. He and the team have been here before.

It hasn’t been pretty, but in true win-or-go-home games over the last two seasons, Tampa Bay has won its season finales. During Baker Mayfield’s first season with the Buccaneers in 2023, they defeated the Panthers 9-0 in Carolina, in a very unflattering game, but a division title nonetheless.

The 2024 finale brought drama as the Bucs needed to win at home over the Saints to clinch the division championship while also getting Mike Evans enough yards to make it 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons. The Buccaneers trailed at halftime and didn’t take the lead until the fourth quarter and also got Evans the 1,000 yards he needed on the last play.

This rematch against the Panthers in 2025 brings just as much drama.

Tons of Drama Heading Into Bucs’ Season Finale

A loss for Tampa Bay would make it losing eight of nine games and finishing on a five-game losing streak. It likely would get head coach Todd Bowles fired, meaning a whole new coaching staff on offense and defense coming in.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Sam Navarro

Potentially, it also is an end of an era as it’s difficult to envision that veteran inside linebacker Lavonte David is back next season and likely will retire. There’s also a possibility that Evans retires after the season as he’s struggled with injury this year. Plus, another elephant in the room is what to do with Mayfield’s contract situation.

The Buccaneers guaranteed $30 million of the final year of his contract for next season, so there’s no question that he’s Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback in 2026. But part of the reason they guaranteed it was a good faith gesture that they would begin contract extension talks in the 2026 offseason. However, with how this season has gone, and particularly how Mayfield has played over the last two months, they may want to put those talks on the shelf until after the 2026 season.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

So … there a lot of storylines surrounding this game. No pressure on Saturday!

Ever the competitor, Mayfield is taking the lead and promised to have everyone good to go in the biggest game of their season.

“I’ll get this group ready,” he said.

How Will The Bucs Get Ready?

The Buccaneers have been severely banged up this season. Almost every starter on offense has missed a game at one point or another. The defense has ran into some problems, too.

That’s put the team in a spot where many of its first practices of the week, typically on Wednesday, is just a walk-through. Its been routine over and over and over. Some believe that its led to the many mistakes this team has had lately, because they’re not drilling the game plan enough with actually playing it instead of just studying it.

Add in that the Panthers are an opponent that the Buccaneers just played two weeks ago and the team has to be razor sharp going into the game.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

“Just true intent and focus on each rep in practice,” Baker Mayfield said. “When you know its a division opponent as well as we know the Panthers and they know us it’s truly about executing your job to the best of your ability each play. That’s plain and simple, at this point of the season, what you see is what you get when you play a divisional opponent. Its about executing, beating the guy across from you and finding a way to win.”

Just like an old western film, Baker Mayfield is going to let it fly. There is no tomorrow if Tampa Bay doesn’t win on Saturday. Everything is on the line. And that’s where he might be his most comfortable.

“Out of bullets, out of lives,” Mayfield said. “That’s alright with me.”