The Question Is, “Why?”
January 14th, 2026
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield.
Joe is pretty confident the Bucs know exactly why. So what are they going to do about it?
There are all sorts of things to point to that went wrong for the Bucs, specifically after the bye, that sunk the pirate ship. As always in football, none are more important than the quarterback.
There was the good Baker Mayfield and the bad Baker Mayfield.
Good Baker dominated the first part of the season, before the bye. In close games, Good Baker put the Bucs on his back, running for key first downs that also loosened up an opponent’s defense and Good Baker then took advantage.
Good Baker looked like he was a league MVP for good reason. He was making clutch play after clutch play, both with his legs and arm, leading the Bucs to a 6-2 record.
Then after the bye, Bad Baker showed up throwing nearly as many picks as he did touchdowns. Too many of those picks came in the fourth quarter which doomed the Bucs, as pointed out by Jenna Laine of ESPN.
Before their Week 9 bye, he had thrown 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He threw 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions after the week off.
Mayfield battled injuries to both shoulders and had issues in his right bicep and knee — on top of a hand issue in training camp. [Todd] Bowles said he did not believe injuries played a role in Mayfield’s regression, and that he doesn’t think any of Mayfield’s injuries will result in offseason surgery.
Joe doesn’t buy it. Mayfield had a myriad of injuries. If Mayfield’s injuries were not a factor in the team circling the drain, then that means recently fired Bucs offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard was incapable of making adjustments.
That may have played a part. But Joe is of the belief injuries to Mayfield turned him from Good Baker to Bad Baker.
And if Mayfield was that hurt, Joe would still like to know why then was he still on the field and not shelved to get him healthy. A banged-up Mayfield trying to fight through injuries did no one any good, specifically Mayfield himself.
January 14th, 2026 at 7:09 am
The backup Guards were inadequate
Mayfield had injuries
Starting Receivers were injured
Irving was injured
Grizzard was incapable at this point to make adjustments
When the Offense only scores 20 points/game the last 9 games and the Defense is giving up almost 26 points/game in the same stretch – you’re going to lose most of the time.
Bucs lost this season mainly because the OLine and Dlines were getting beat.
January 14th, 2026 at 7:09 am
Bowles couldn’t sit Baker for a game or 2 to recover because Bowles made the decision to cut Trask leaving the Bucs without a credible backup QB.
January 14th, 2026 at 7:11 am
Well, first the Defense always stunk , all year long, even when they won!
Todd Bowles never …… ever made any adjustments
Then Bowles threw everyone under the bus
And now here we are and Bowles is still here!!!
Plus, the Bucs are no closer to hiring any coaches to fulfill the open positions!
Really, the Bucs need to figure out what kind of team they have and what they need to do to improve and the hire coaches that will get that done
Right now, I don’t think they have a clue!!!
January 14th, 2026 at 7:12 am
I think we have seen what mayfield looks like when he is battling through injuries. This sounds silly but prioritizing a competent backup in the offseason is important.
January 14th, 2026 at 7:13 am
Absolutely agree, and good article too.
We should have had a solid backup for Baker. Teddy was on the injury list, I think twice, and once was for teeth. Kyle wasn’t the answer for years. After the bye, something else happened too. Maybe discontent within the locker room, unsure. We need a good backup for Baker next season. No more, let’s see what happens and bringing in ones that can’t play successfully if he is out.
January 14th, 2026 at 7:13 am
If the Atlanta Falcons can make ( great ownership and leadership)
Make Matt Ryan President of Football Operations
Why can’t or don’t the Bucs do the same with Ronde Barber and free the Glazers from these type of situations where they have a long history of ineptitude.
They did manage to wrangle 2 Lombardi Trophy Rentals
January 14th, 2026 at 7:15 am
Surprise! This falls on the HC. Look at how the 49er HC handled Purdy. He gave him plenty of time get healthy and despite even more injuries than the Bucs, managed to keep his team winning ball games
I really hope it was injuries and the Baker we saw in the 2nd half of the season wasn’t just more of the inconsistent Baker folks have witnessed most of his career.
But does it really matter? Does anything about this team really matter as long as Todd is still the head coach?
January 14th, 2026 at 7:18 am
He had injuries to his hand, bicep AND his shoulder(s) and it didn’t play a part in his regression? How could it not play a part?
January 14th, 2026 at 7:21 am
Almost this exact same scenario played out for Mayfield in his final season in Cleveland and they ran him out of town because of it.
January 14th, 2026 at 7:22 am
Would be awesome if we could get Jameis back, if only for the one-liners at his interviews.
About Baker –I don’t see the reason for this continued vagueness from Todd about his injuries–the season’s over (unless he’s afraid of getting in trouble with the league for lying on the injury reports)
January 14th, 2026 at 7:23 am
Clear as day. Baker became one dimensional. I love the guy. But if he isn’t a multifaceted threat he loses his ability to impact games. Hes a great dude, great leader, not a pure pocket passer.
I guess if he had an iron curtain in front of him and didn’t get happy feet so soon that might change things. Seems similar to Brady once you saw in his eyes he had mentally checked out, the feet got happier and the throws were forced, didn’t seem to be getting through his reads and back again.
Baker is certainly not mentally checked out. But he either got gun shy about getting hit or he didn’t have confidence his body could take a big splash. His brain wasn’t willing to write the checks his body was going to have to cash. Even his last few scrambles against Carolina looked a little half hearted. In earlier games guys would get a paw on him and Baker was twisting, juking, squeaking away. The last game? He just went down when a paw grabbed him.
January 14th, 2026 at 7:24 am
Poor play from both the guard positions. It killed the run and passing game. We placed a coach in the role of OC that he wasn’t ready or qualified for.
You don’t need to look any further .
January 14th, 2026 at 7:32 am
If shaker throws an interception, don’t assume it’s always his fault. Coaching and boredom is the problem, not Baker. Who played harder?
January 14th, 2026 at 7:36 am
When did the Falcons ever equate great owner and leadership? How many rings? How many coaches? 28-3? Penix/Cousins debacle? Is it because Blank comes down every fourth quarter and looks, well, blank? We’ll see how Matt Ryan handles the entire operation. Seems like a hail Mary to me. Go Bucs.
January 14th, 2026 at 7:39 am
Injuries didnt affect the defense.
Injuries didnt affect the special teams.
Both were bad all year
We won without Evans
We won without Godwin
We won without both of them
Coaching lost us the season
Coaching lost us the locker room
Change what you want, the core problem remains – and he’s still the HC
January 14th, 2026 at 7:44 am
I’m not going to type out the career stats for Mayfield because I’m on my phone and it’s a pain in the butt.
I strongly encourage all of ya’ll to look for yourselves. This year he passed for 3693 yards with 26 TDs and 11 INTs. If you take out his first two years with the Bucs this was pretty much the numbers he has put up over his NFL career. In other words he regressed to his normal average.
Blame it on injuries, the OC, the HC or the (admittedly) soft defense or whatever you want but the numbers don’t lie.
60 wins to 63 losses over his career. Baker Mayfield is what his record says he is.
January 14th, 2026 at 7:45 am
I saw 2?interceptions from Otton where he lost the ball & another 2 where WRs quit on routes….another was a Hail Mary at the end of a half….so, yes some were not Baker’s fault.
January 14th, 2026 at 7:45 am
I agree that it is Bo2les responsibility to manage his QB throughout the season. However, shouldn’t the offensive minded GM be responsible to provide a viable backup for his defensive minded GM? But why would anyone hold Licht responsible, after all he did have Wirfs, BA, and Brady fall into lap so he’s untouchable.
January 14th, 2026 at 7:46 am
*defensive minded HC
January 14th, 2026 at 7:49 am
I do not believe they are capable on figuring out what they need & actually putting it together on the field . Sure , the GM can put the ingredients on the counter , I have no faith in this coaching staff to get it rolling . Oh wait , what coaching staff ? Oh yeah we only have the guy that threw everyone under the pirate ship & he is the only one left aboard! Fix your stupidly confusing bad defense Todd . Get young guys who are fast & will fly to the ball & gang tackle in a simple defense & I can assure you they won’t make any more mistakes than your bums you have been trotting out . Quit getting out coached!!!!!!!!!!
January 14th, 2026 at 7:51 am
Of course it was the injuries. And it’s clear they were terrified to play Bridgewater. One wonders why he was even on the roster. Licht really screwed up parts of the roster this past season.
January 14th, 2026 at 7:53 am
Enough with the Excuses. Already……How many more are there???
January 14th, 2026 at 7:55 am
3rd and 28. All Bakers fault….
We were actually a 4 win team if it hadnt been for those last 60 second comebacks that he engineered almost on his own. Todds D is where the spotlight is for this seasons failure
January 14th, 2026 at 7:55 am
Beeej Says, you may have found the elephant in the room on Baker’s injuries! The NFL was investigating the NYG’s and their handling/playing QB with injuries. Do not know league rules or procedures but punishments fines, suspension or loss of draft picks come to mind.
January 14th, 2026 at 8:02 am
Joe, you left out the oblique injury that affected him for several games in the middle of the season. As others have stated why was he playing if he was hurt? The answer is they had no one else they could put on the field. Teddy is terrible and almost killed our receiver. Is that really the best the team could come up with for a backup quarterback?
No excuses, just facts for the Baker haters.
January 14th, 2026 at 8:02 am
When Baker Mayfield played through injuries he was the bad Baker. Previous seasons confirm this, it was obvious simply by watching his poor performance.
Much of the blame is on Todd Bowles for continuing to play him over a healthy backup quarterback.
Had Bowles rested him 3 games after the bye week, that’s 4 weeks to heal and get the Bucs into the playoffs.
If Mayfield pushed back against Bowles, he is the coach and needed to save Mayfield against himself.
Hopefully Bowles improves but his past decisions paint a disastrous pattern.
January 14th, 2026 at 8:08 am
Enough now. You guys are making this too complicated. There is no mystery. And there’s no ‘bye’. The delineator is the Detroit game, specifically when Mike Evans went down. Defenses had one trick, to shut out Egbuka. It worked. And Grizz had no answers. Our offense went through Mike. The new OC will no doubt install a more varied scheme and we’ll be able to attack in different ways.
January 14th, 2026 at 8:08 am
It is bad enough that Bowels lies as much as he does. In his arrogance, he doesn’t think the press and fans are worthy of the truth. But this was an unnecessary lie. What was gained from it?
January 14th, 2026 at 8:10 am
I am in Baker’s camp but he will be turning 31 I believe next season.
We have ZERO starting caliber Quarterback in the wings.
When and how high will the Bucs address this NEED?
January 14th, 2026 at 8:14 am
I believe it was combination of Baker’s injuries and most importantly, Grizzard’s incompetence as an OC. Todd chose Grizz over Scheelhause to be our OC last year. What makes you believe Todd is going to get it right this season. Also we probably had the worst backup quarterback in the league last season so we couldn’t rest Baker. A big priority this season is to get a competent backup. I hate to burst your bubble Gator fans, Trask was not a competent backup either.
January 14th, 2026 at 8:27 am
We can only hope that the good Baker Mayfield is ready to role when next season roles around.
January 14th, 2026 at 8:33 am
Someone should have the balls to tell baker to sit a game or 2 out if he is so injured it effects his play that badly. baker wont do it himself, that kind of thing should be the responsibility of the head coach, but bowles likes his “players hold eachother accountable” philosophy which seems to be the downfall of the locker room imo.
January 14th, 2026 at 8:34 am
Bakers play was pretty spot on with his career averages. I think we’re seeing who baker is at this point. Streaky, with hot and cold spells that average out.
I believe the key to unlocking Baker is to keep the ball out of his hands the majority of the game, which requires a strong run game. Glimpses of it last year with Bucky, but we need a run identity.
January 14th, 2026 at 8:46 am
Sigh…more and more excuses.
It will be very interesting to see how many people on this site pivot when Baker plays the exact same way this upcoming season. As myself and many others have stated Baker plays the same healthy and injured. The way Baker played at the beginning of the season is the outlier. If it wasn’t we would’ve seen that type of play IN THE PLAYOFFS the 2 seasons before.
The way Baker played in the DET playoff game and the WAS playoff game was similar to how he played down the stretch during the 2-7 slide. Off-target throws and 4th quarter turnovers. Was he injured then as well? I dont remember hearing that.
Baker is a rollercoaster, he always has been and always will be. Every season he has a streak of terrible play. He’s been that way for every OC hes had. So post any stat you want but stats dont win games.
You can’t build around a 30+ year old injury prone QB. Thats not a great way to build long term success. The Bucs need to get younger and more talented at HC and at QB. Expecting Bowles and Baker to get different results is a waste of time. Its the same song and dance from both of them season after season.
Notice they results they had with their former teams they brought with them to the Bucs. With their leadership the top 10 pick is within reach.
January 14th, 2026 at 8:47 am
Joe, I agree to some point about Mayfield and injuries, however I do think it was more. It clearly looked like something else was going on, like bad play calling and Grizzard not making adjustments and when I hear a player say, it seems like I am out there by myself , hummmm. Nonetheless, thats just my opinion and opinions are like rear ends, everybody has one
January 14th, 2026 at 8:56 am
If Baker was really that bad, then why wouldn’t you have our backup qb start. Oh, maybe because he’s not interested in playing football. Hes literally only doing it for the money. Great job front office on that stellar FA signing.
January 14th, 2026 at 8:56 am
It’s absurd to think that everyone is the problem but Bowles.
He’s a nice man, but he could not motivate.
And his defensive scheme is just stupid. It does not work.
Licht has built a team with too many nice guys who have low testosterone.
All they are doing right now with all the coaching changes is rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic.
What good assistant coach would come here, knowing that this is the last season for Bowles.
We all know it.
January 14th, 2026 at 8:57 am
Optimistic nailed it !!
listen, Teddy can throw a couple balls as good as anybody. However Bowles cutting Trask and bringing Bridgewater last minute is laughable. He literally is as fragile as a thin pain of glass and can barely run . This again just speaks volumes to Todd’s assessment capabilities. You’ve had two years and a whole off-season to assess your backup quarterback room. The whole thing is covered with red noses and oversize shoes. Does anyone have a big tent they can ship to Todd?
January 14th, 2026 at 8:58 am
The offensive line usually dictates how smooth the offense runs!! Ours had two third string guards and major injuries to the rest. Not sticking up for Mayfield because he did have his share of mistakes, but you can’t have a discussion about QB play without bringing up the O-line.
January 14th, 2026 at 8:59 am
Well, what I want to know is why we didn’t sign another QB when it was quite apparent that Bilgewater was unable to bail out our sinking ship? Did Bowlzo tell Licht ltat we didn’t need a QB or was it Licht himself? Who the heck thought to sign that washout in the first place?
January 14th, 2026 at 9:04 am
I agree with @Knothead71
Baker is NOT THAT MAN!!!!
Baker lead the league in INTs & Fumbles in 2024 and folks made every excuse there was for him including the injury excuse….
now joe is trying to dig up every bump and bruise baker had to justify his trash play lol….
9 INTs in the 2nd half of the season tell me Baker doesnt have it between the ears….it aint injuries..baker aint it!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
January 14th, 2026 at 9:11 am
even if the defense played average, that doesnt solve Bakers 4th quarter INT problem!!!!
people love to bring up 3rd&28 but never want to mention Baker throwing the INT earlier in the 4th…
the question is, WHY?
GO BUCS!!!
January 14th, 2026 at 9:13 am
Bowles will not admit Baker was hurt because that would give a very plausible reason to question why Bowles really launched Grizzard. Grizz was a scapegoat that was forced to modify his offense to help keepTodd’s putrid D off of the field. Vs Carolina in the final game, I think Grizzard was forced to go for a FG before the half and run all the time off of the clock so Bowles D would not give up a TD in 30 seconds…..
January 14th, 2026 at 9:16 am
Until Todd Bowles is fired everything else surrounding this team is white noise.
We’re behind the 8 ball before we even take the field every game knowing we will be outcoached. It’s disgusting that this guy is not only HC still but the Glazers didn’t even have the balls to make him give up DC. They’re straight up cowards.
January 14th, 2026 at 9:23 am
@813bucboi.
I agree with Penny aspects of what is said in that makers play the second half of the season in particular was disappointing. It is easy to play the guessing game as to how much of it was due to injury how much was due to him being an inconsistent quarterback…
However if you actually look at the interceptions themselves you realize that he realistically had only four or five of those nine interceptions actually be on him.
I can count two of them that went to Cade Otton but either clanged off his hands into a defender or that the defender ripped out of his hands. I can count one that was a hail Mary before halftime that was intercepted that really had no impact at all in the game for which I have seen Tom Brady do very similar multiple times. Just taking those away and you would be down to six interceptions and a season long of 26 touchdowns with 8 interceptions a 3 and 1/2 to 1 ratio which would be considered very good!
My own personal opinion is the Baker is not elite, but when healthy and with an offensive line that is not down at least two of its starters at any given time he is better than what we saw the second half of the year. If we had a competent defense to go with that we could survive the occasional interception. Just look at how Seattle did with some multiple interception games by Sam darnold that they still won because the rest of the defense and the offense could overcome a turnover. The margin of error for us was so narrow because Todd’s defense gives up points like a pedophile gives out candy to kids.
January 14th, 2026 at 9:31 am
@RVATom …you put it perfect, and it’s accurate depiction without being a apologist.
Let me add that Baker is simply overrated. Sure, we got a snap shot of his ability to thrive in a dink and dunk offense, which didn’t ask a whole lot from him as far as the degree of difficulty in throwing the football, not to mention the assist of a solid running game. AND yes, his ability to escape contain and get extra yards with his legs, is huge x-factor allowing the offense to stay on the field. And yet, he still managed to be tied with the most INTs in 2024.
If Baker was playing that hurt, he is a detriment to not only the offense, the team, and himself. This idea that when Baker craps the bed is always due to an injury is getting old. There isn’t one coach that’s forcing him to play. He thinks he’s a hero and that he’s better at 70% than a 100% healthy backup. That’s not reality, and if it is, we need to find ourselves a better backup. Baker lacks the physical tangibles that would allow him to compensate for being banged up. Josh Allen is a great example of someone that is still a better option at 70% than Mitchell Tribusky at 100%. That simply isn’t Baker.
January 14th, 2026 at 9:33 am
Maybe Griz got lost in the storm, so to say, and answer me this, was there anyone to bail him out ?? So he called things the best he could when everything went bad. No More First Time play callers for a while.. Monken would be nice and I bet he learned some AFC tricks in Baltimore.
January 14th, 2026 at 9:34 am
He had no back up. Moonball is an auto lost game.
January 14th, 2026 at 9:34 am
@813, Thank You!!! Let’s Go Bucs…..
January 14th, 2026 at 9:40 am
Baker still has 10 years+ of great plays in his future if he is protected.
PROTECT HIM.
January 14th, 2026 at 9:42 am
It was just not Baker injuries, that whole line was banged up and under performed, The Receiver Corp were banged up for most of the year, Bucky Irving missed 1st half of season. A total disaster and Bucs were fortunate to be 6-2 beating playoff teams.
When you have an injured QB, there is usually a rally around him to keep him clean. This team did not have the players to do that.