Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield continues to prove he’s the NFL’s most underrated quarterback after a big win over the San Francisco 49ers. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
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Baker Mayfield continues to illustrate that he’s the NFL’s most underrated quarterback.
Despite playing without three of his best receivers — Emeka Egbuka was sidelined for the entire second half due to a hamstring injury — Mayfield willed the Buccaneers to another impressive victory, this time over the NFC West-leading San Francisco 49ers.
The 30-year-old quarterback threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns, but his most impressive play of the day was a 15-yard run for a first down late in the third quarter. On a play that demonstrates what Mayfield is all about — pesky and resilient — he escaped a would-be sack from two Niners defenders to run for a first down on 3rd-and-14.
“I was in disbelief just like everyone else,” said head coach Todd Bowles after the game about Mayfield’s miracle first down. “It happens every other week or so. He makes those plays and you pray he doesn’t get hurt or anything, but he has a knack that you can’t teach or coach. It was an unbelievable play.”
That play extended a Buccaneers drive that should have ended in a punt with no points and it resulted in a 44-yard touchdown pass to Tez Johnson that would give the Buccaneers a commanding 27-19 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
It doesn’t seem to matter who lines up alongside Mayfield. Whether it’s Egbuka and Mike Evans, whether it’s Chris Godwin, or whether it’s simply a trio of secondary receivers such as Johnson, Kameron Johnson and Sterling Shepard, No. 6 always seems to find a way to get it done.
“Those guys stepping up in a huge way and hats off to them for being prepared, not shying away and not flinching,” said Mayfield. “I truly and genuinely trust the guys that are in there. They’re ready, we talked throughout the week, guys are on the same page and it’s real. I trust these guys.”
Johnson – Kameron, that is – led the Buccaneers with three catches for 64 yards and a touchdown. For perspective, the second-year, undrafted receiver didn’t have a single career catch before the Buccaneers’ game against the Niners, mainly being used as a returner on special teams this season.
That all changed in the win against the Niners with Mayfield throwing him the ball.
“Everybody was geeked up,” said Lavonte David of Johnson’s catch. “Everybody was hyped up. That guy, Baker, he plays with his heart. We know he’s going to put his heart on the line every week, week in and week out, and that’s why we have no problem doing the same for him.”
Entering the game, Mayfield — who has revived his career in Tampa Bay and emerged as a fan favorite — was tied for the most touchdown passes (79) since the start of the 2023 season with the Detroit Lions’ Jared Goff. Mayfield ranked second in the NFL last season with a career-high 41 touchdown passes despite missing Godwin for 10 of those games.
If Mayfield continues playing the way that he has played through the first six games of the season, he could very well not only be a top MVP candidate – he could walk away with his first MVP award and become the first Bucs player to ever win it.
“He is the MVP,” said Tez Johnson in the locker room following the win. “That’s just Baker, pump-faking everybody. He’s a dog.”
For the sixth consecutive season — and the third consecutive season under Mayfield — the Buccaneers appear well on their way to another playoff berth. They have the longest current streak of any NFC team with five consecutive playoff appearances and are on track to win their fifth consecutive division title.
In a conference that suddenly appears wide open with the Philadelphia Eagles on a two-game losing streak, the Buccaneers could very well be the team to beat in the NFC. It’s a long season and we’re only six games into the 2025 campaign, but the road to the Super Bowl could very well go through Tampa Bay.
A large reason for that — despite the Buccaneers’ rash of injuries to key players — is due to the presence and leadership of Mayfield.
Through six games this season, Mayfield has just one interception. Entering the game, his interception rate of 0.6% was tied for the third-best among all starting quarterbacks in the NFL.
In other words, the former No. 1 overall pick is playing his best football no matter who he has on the field alongside him.
“It says a lot about the depth and the next man up,” said Bowles. “The coaches do a heck of a job getting these guys prepared to play and they don’t flinch when they’re in there. We have confidence in them and they have confidence in themselves. To keep losing guys week after week and for those guys to make plays says a lot about the resiliency of the guys in the locker room.”
The Buccaneers are obviously a battle-tested team that has been through all the tough games. In the Mayfield era, Tampa Bay has made back-to-back playoff appearances, losing by one possession against the Detroit Lions in the divisional round of the postseason and losing on a last-second field goal to the Washington Commanders in the wild card round last season.
They also have a number of veterans who are still around from the 2020 Super Bowl squad led by Tom Brady such as Evans, Godwin, Tristan Wirfs, David and Jamel Dean.
The mainstream sports media have always focused on the bigger-name or “sexier” squads such as the Eagles, Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs or Buffalo Bills. But this Buccaneers squad may very well be the NFL’s best team through six weeks.
And a lot of that has to do with Mayfield.