Baker Mayfield No. 92
June 2nd, 2026
Do the Bucs bore America?
“This Joe” is still stunned the Bucs got three primetime games in the 2026 schedule (so long as the games are not flexed back to a Sunday afternoon time slot).
Given KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles and Baker Mayfield’s records in primetime games, Joe selfishly hoped for none this fall.
Outside Tampa Bay, the Bucs are perceived as a .500 team in a landfill of a division, an afterthought with a wallflower of a coach and a rotten defense minus its offensive star, Mike Evans.
While folks respect Emeka Egbuka’s ability and admire Chris Godwin’s career, the Bucs don’t move the needle and those two aren’t big enough to energize non-Bucs fans in Reno or Rancho Cucamonga or Effingham or Far Rockaway or Macon.
Here’s a good example: Yahoo! columnist Frank Schwab is a good dude and a hardcore football guy. He typed a column marking the 100 days before the 2026 season kicks off, offering up 100 reasons to be excited.
Schwab came up with 91 reasons to be geeked for opening day (which included several Jets references) and the Bucs were not directly in any of them.
(Why in the name of John McKay would anyone want to watch the Jets? You’d have to rope Joe into a chair and pry Joe’s eyelids open like the dude in “A Clockwork Orange” to watch the Jets!)
It was almost like Schwab was running out of ideas and remembered, “Uh, oh. I better mention the Bucs somehow.” And so he typed a graph about Baker Mayfield.
92. Baker Mayfield tries to regroup
Mayfield was quite good two seasons ago and pretty bad in the second half of last season. There’s no Mike Evans for the Buccaneers anymore, which will be weird, but Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin Jr. and others can help Mayfield rediscover his form.
Joe is geeked just to watch the Bucs. It doesn’t matter who is on the field. But man, this list just reinforces Joe’s notion that the Bucs are borderline boring for non-Bucs fans.
Here are some of Schwab’s preferred lures to watch the NFL this fall:
* Bad weather games
* The Bills’ lavish new stadium
* Farewell to the Titans’ old stadium
* Mike Tomlin on NBC
* The Eagles’ nonstop drama
* Bears fans’ excitement
* Jaxson Dart’s next move
* Thanksgiving week drama
* So many international games
* ESPN gets the Super Bowl
* Brazil welcomes Cowboys vs. Ravens
* Trent Williams marches on
* The Jets’ secretly fun offense
* Daniel Jones’ return
* The trade deadline
* Patriots and Lions go to Germany
* All those Ohio State rookies
* A great Hall of Fame class
* Your fantasy football sleeper
* Jaguars return to London
* George Pickens drama
* The loaded 2027 NFL Draft
* Will the Jets finally get an interception?
* Will Campbell’s redemption
Yup. Those are just some reasons fans should be excited for the NFL to resume play in September before Schwab found a way to shoe horn the Bucs into the list.
If the aforementioned list motivates folks to watch the NFL more than watching a Bucs game, then that demonstrates how America yawns at the thought of the Bucs.
#Sad
June 2nd, 2026 at 7:23 am
Bucs will lose to : CIN BAL DET CHI DAL LAC LAR and two divisional games –
8-9’record and no playoffs – probably some good play on the field from Baker and the defense – is that exciting ? dunno – maybe – go Bucs
June 2nd, 2026 at 7:30 am
Hard to believe how bad the Bucs record is in Prime Time. Makes one question coaching prowess of Todd and his Putrid Pass Defense. Time to turn the Bad into Good on so many fronts with this Team. Go BUCS!!
June 2nd, 2026 at 7:30 am
Joe, I know you need new descriptive adjectives each season for the grist mill yo pound out daily, but cone on now please, enough with the kit kat candy reference. It is lousy chocolate and whatever passes for the center, and then you wonder why America goes to sleep about the Bucs?
June 2nd, 2026 at 7:31 am
The Bucs are boring for Bucs fans too. Any time this team has a chance to prove themselves they poop the bed in primetime. Per google:
“Todd Bowles has struggled under the lights, compiling an overall night game record of 4-10 with the Buccaneers, while starting quarterback Baker Mayfield is 1-9 in primetime since joining Tampa Bay.”
Having the same “leadership” and expecting different results is certainly a choice but hey, keep hope alive right?
June 2nd, 2026 at 7:33 am
Baker Mayfield is officially 8-9 in night games in his NFL career. Thursday night’s 5-1. Sunday nights 2-3. Monday nights 1-5. His first game as a pro was Browns 3rd game of 2018 and he came in down 14-0 in a night game and rallied Cleveland to their first victory in a year and a half and didn’t get credit for it because he didn’t start. That makes him 9-9. Then, in 2022 with the Rams, he didn’t get credit for the famous night game comeback because he didn’t start. That makes him 10-9. And I don’t buy Joes premise that nobody wants to watch the Bucs play. 3 night games on the schedule speak of Baker Mayfield’s ability to draw eyeballs. And everyone knows it.
June 2nd, 2026 at 7:43 am
The more games you win the less boring you will be.
June 2nd, 2026 at 7:50 am
I know this will be really hard for some people to take, but Baker is the only reason the Bucs have any relevance at all.
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:04 am
Drunk Buc, you are NOT wrong.
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:08 am
So…we just need Thursday night games…
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:11 am
Drunk Bucs Fan, you nailed it.
People around here have forgotten what it was like before Mayfield and Brady.
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:11 am
The Bucs have not yet offered Baker a new contract.
It’s a wait and see type situation in Tampa.
Why is that the case?
Isn’t Baker worth $55-$60M per year?
We shall see.
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:16 am
Toad Bowels is the problem. His teams mirror his personality and energy.
Not to mention his wide open, soft as butter, pee wee league caliber, Swiss cheese defensive scheme.
His record as the HC\DC is exactly .500 including the playoffs. Not very exciting at all.
Boring is a compliment to such a failure and a fraud. He was gifted the job.
Once he’s gone this team will take off. Until then it’s groundhog’s day.
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:26 am
Mike Tomlin will be the HC in 2027.
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:30 am
Frankly, this entire list is about as exciting as watchin’ a couple of mules fightin’ over a turnip.
But, that’s just me.
If the game doesn’t involve the Bucs, I might have a pasing interest at best.
Playoffs and SB excepted.
I’m glad we at least made the list. Beyond that, I’m just ready for the season to start.
If anyone needs me, I’ll be Singin’ in the Rain…
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:31 am
He has the Jets in there multiple times. Shocking, a New York City team. But they are tremendously bad year-end year out.
The only time I watch a Jets game on purpose is when they’re playing the Bucs, like the game I went to last year, that was brutally hot but it was the season opener and it had a lot of cool 50-year stuff going on. Glad I went. But it definitely wasn’t to see the Jets in particular. We would have won that game running away if we had a decent special teams unit.
I think special teams will help us tremendously this season by not losing us any games.
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:32 am
Primetime games… the one place where KitKat-eating Incredibly Average Todd Bowles is decidedly not incredibly average.
Season to season, he’s great at being .500. No more, no less.
…not those primetime games… Oof!
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:36 am
It’s not just ppl outside the region that think this take is accurate. It seems pretty dead on to me.
Going by last year it’s even generous since we werent .500.
Reality stinks.
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:57 am
LynchMob50 Says:
June 2nd, 2026 at 8:16 am
“Once he’s gone this team will take off. Until then it’s groundhog’s day.”
So you miss the days of Trent Dilfer, Vinny Testaverde, Jameis Winston, Josh Freeman, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Chris Simms?
June 2nd, 2026 at 9:06 am
No Bonzai, I miss the days of winning playoff games and contending for a title.
And twice winning a title was the ultimate dream come true for us fans that live and die with each game.
It’s one thing to give your best effort and come up short. That is perfectly acceptable.
But to keep doubling down on mediocrity is madness. Bowles is never going to change his inept decision making abilities.
He must have pictures of the Glazers in precarious positions.
June 2nd, 2026 at 9:32 am
@ Lynchmob
So you are basically saying you miss Tom Brady?
So do I my friend – so do I…
June 2nd, 2026 at 9:50 am
A true “live and die ” fan rolls with the punches, Way to much criticism for something you and i obviously cant change other then not watching or going to a game the constant negative sucks
June 2nd, 2026 at 9:58 am
Baker isn’t as good as Brady was those first two years, but he’s a heck of a lot better than most anybody else we’ve had unless you go all the way back to…darn, I don’t remember.
June 2nd, 2026 at 10:00 am
Who was the guy who gave us the bayou curse about 40 some odd years ago? Oh yeah. Doug Williams.
June 2nd, 2026 at 10:47 am
FYI – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have played exactly 804 games in franchise history (779 regular season and 25 playoff games) entering the 2026 NFL season. Since their inception in 1976, the franchise holds an all-time overall record of 340 wins, 492 losses, and 1 tie. Dilfer Testaverde Winston Freeman have 274 starts and Williams Brady Johnson have 166 starts – Baker has 51 starts and if he gets extended will be the all-time most QB starts – Shaun King and Dilfer have each won a single playoff game as has Baker – Williams won one Brad Johnson 3 and Brady 5 – Baker needs 12 more wins to be the all-time Bucs regular-season win leader – so to Buc Bonzai’s point the Bucs have had lousy QBs except for Brady Williams Johnson – Baker has already matched the performance of every QB other than those three – so the smart move is to see how he does this year and if he stays healthy give him a 3-year extension – an extra 10 mill is nothing in the big scheme – take it out of Licht & Bowles’ salary – someone on JBF stated that the only reason the Bucs garner ANY attention is Baker – this is true – he is the face of the franchise now and can you imagine a national TV ad featuring any other Buc player other than him ? thought so – so with Baker we will go – for at least another year
June 2nd, 2026 at 11:02 am
and another fun fact : Brady and Baker are the only Bucs QBs to play three or more full seasons since Dilfer played 4 straight 1995 – 1998 – Doug Williams also played 4 straight from 1979 – 1982 – Baker could break those records if he is extended – like it or not the Glazers are gonna ride with Baker
June 2nd, 2026 at 11:23 am
Steve V. Says: Says:
June 2nd, 2026 at 9:50 am
A true “live and die ” fan rolls with the punches, Way to much criticism for something you and i obviously cant change other then not watching or going to a game the constant negative sucks
^^^^^^^^
It’s “too”, little buddy…As in “way too”…Hahaha
June 2nd, 2026 at 12:02 pm
Drunk Bucs Fan says: Baker is the only reason the Bucs have any relevance at all.
So true. It is why in 2023 everybody agreed we would win 4 games that year. But Baker came on and somehow we were able to win 10 games instead. Baker is the difference. Baker is always the difference, if the coach knows how to use him and the team when he is there. We will go to the superbowl when the coaches figure out how to create and coach a team AROUND Baker. Baker is a winner but it is a team sport and a team has NEVER went to a superbowl without a top ranked defense, it just don’t happen. TEAM SPORT
June 2nd, 2026 at 12:10 pm
I take the Glazers at their word when they said–“It won’t bother us one bit to cut that big check to keep Baker here, not one bit”. The reason it is taking so long, who knows, but I take them at their word. Baker will be here for several more years.
June 2nd, 2026 at 12:16 pm
English 101 from beef jerky
June 2nd, 2026 at 1:15 pm
Licht-is-a-Bobblehead,
The Bucs are GUARANTEED to lose AT LEAST 3 of our division games AT MINIMUM.
If we’re lucky.
It could be more if we’re not.
Our division teams have our number right now.
June 2nd, 2026 at 1:18 pm
Baker was once the week 6 MVP!
June 2nd, 2026 at 1:23 pm
Licht-is-a-Bobblehead said “take it (Baker’s salary increase) out of Licht and Bowles’ salaries.”
That’s… uh…
That’s not how the salary cap works.