Bucs need their leader now.

Earlier in the season, when folks were speaking about Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield being an MVP, there was a solid reason for that.

There were games — Houston springs to mind — where Mayfield simply willed the Bucs to win. Put his body on the line. Sacrificed his health.

Mayfield was having a career year it seemed. And then he got hurt. He hasn’t been the same since. Jeff Howe of The Athletic points out Mayfield’s past six games have been bad, in part, because he has been hurt.

Oh, it’s been earlier than that. The last good defensive game the Bucs had is when they took over and stomped the slimy Saints in New Orleans. Mayfield was almost a non-factor that day as he was fighting through that game much less than 100 percent.

Mayfield, who is playing through injuries, has seven turnovers and seven total touchdowns over the Bucs’ last six games, and he has completed 57 percent of his passes for an average of 158.7 passing yards along with 29.5 rushing yards over that span. The Bucs are 1-5 and have fallen out of the playoff picture during that stretch.

Since, the Bucs’ defense has collapsed. If you add up the four times someone (Todd Bowles twice, Lavonte David, Mayfield) has unloaded on defensive teammates for lacking a killer instinct, being mentally checked out and not giving a “s(p)it” — the last word was Bowles’ description — it’s clear the defense is checked out, for whatever reason.

The next two games, starting this afternoon, the Bucs need their franchise quarterback more than ever to resurrect himself.

If the Bucs make the playoffs, it seems to Joe that Mayfield is going to have to put the team on his back and carry them to the postseason.