Betrayal
October 17th, 2025
Overcoming adversity.
Need ammo to win arguments with Eagles- or Steelers-fans not believing Baker Mayfield is playing at an MVP level? Here you go.
Long-time NFL columnist Mike Sando of The Athletic has concocted something called the “Betrayal Index.” It measures how much support quarterbacks get from all three phases of the game — offense, defense and special teams.
Or, in other words, how much a team has hung its quarterback out to dry.
In his breakdown, Sando has determined only Dak Prescott has been betrayed by poor play more than Mayfield.
And as Sando points out, Mayfield has still found a way to get the Bucs to a 5-1 record.
As for other betrayed quarterbacks this season, Baker Mayfield deserves special mention for guiding Tampa Bay to a 5-1 record despite getting the 28th-worst support from the Buccaneers’ defense and (especially) special teams. Winning so frequently while ranking second on the Betrayal Index enhances Mayfield’s MVP credentials.
Mayfield has simply put the Bucs on his back. Now the name of this index is a bit harsh. Joe doesn’t think Mayfield has been betrayed (aside from poor special teams play) as much as the Bucs have been almost wiped out by injuries.
Mayfield isn’t being betrayed as much as he has overcome adversity.
Just wait until this Bucs team gets healthy!
October 17th, 2025 at 4:27 am
I saw people on twitter saying if Dak had the Bucs defense then they’d be undefeated and Dak would be MVP front runner, they claimed “Baker had been bailed out by defense and special teams at times”, i asked what the hell had they been watching!
October 17th, 2025 at 5:29 am
Maxx Crosby….trade our first
October 17th, 2025 at 5:32 am
Winning SB will shut them up.
October 17th, 2025 at 5:39 am
LOL like we need yet another goofy stat. I tend to actually watch the games. Eagles and Steelers fans? Well we all know they live here and refuse to support the team. Soo…
Go Bucs!
October 17th, 2025 at 6:10 am
Betrayal?
After watching Mayfield drive our injury riddled offense down the field for a score,
Only to watch our defense immediately give up a quick score,
Yeah- Betrayal isn’t that far fetched
October 17th, 2025 at 6:17 am
Here is another comparison to Baker. Another off and on Cleveland pro Player Lebron James has a no excuses policy. Same with Baker he is not complaining just playing.
October 17th, 2025 at 6:21 am
For the most part the Bucs have some really good talent on the defensive side of the ball, but I think it’s the scheme that Bowles run! Special teams are a different story, don’t think they have the talent or coaching there!
October 17th, 2025 at 6:47 am
LeBron and his constant whining and complaining to refs eliminates him trim comparison to Baker. LeBron is soft and flops. Baker tough as nails and gets right back up
October 17th, 2025 at 6:48 am
I’ve always thought Bowle’s scheme suffer because it demands 2 superhuman ILB’s, and we don’t have that anymore.
OK, nicer edge rush wouldn’t hurt either
October 17th, 2025 at 7:29 am
So Todd Bowles’ defense STILL sucks. Todd is holding this team back. I know, that’s blasphemy round these parts.
October 17th, 2025 at 8:19 am
Joe doesn’t think Mayfield has been betrayed (aside from poor special teams play) as much as the Bucs have been almost wiped out by injuries.
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BINGO!!!!
i think folks forget the only time the bucs defense gave up 30pts was when we were down our 2 starting CBs in SEA….philly game defense played great but special teams and turnovers killed us…
defense has held 3 teams under 20pts or less this season lol…
6-1!!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
October 17th, 2025 at 8:32 am
Darengibo – say what you want about LeBron but he’s not ‘soft’ for infinity’s sake
October 17th, 2025 at 8:33 am
“Just wait until this Bucs team gets healthy!” That seems like a pipe dream at this point.
October 17th, 2025 at 9:23 am
Special team play is lumped in with Defensive plays which distorts the Betrayal Index theory that measures how much support Baker receives from all three phases of Tampa_bay_buccaneers game.
Baker is the catalysts because of his mentality to do whatever it takes to win.
Baker’s will to win in a way evens the Bucs overall play that this Index doesn’t account for!
October 17th, 2025 at 9:24 am
Amen, @813!! 🙂 So, Garrett knifed Bake in Cleveland? NO WAY is that 2-legged poison coming down here!!
October 17th, 2025 at 9:38 am
There 5 really good defenses n 5 really bad defenses in today’s NFL, the good defenses will get pushed around by good offenses more times than not, the bad defenses will be consistently bad no matter opponent, the other 22 teams are hit or miss most weeks, this isn’t a Bucs problem it’s an NFL issue, the Bucs defense doesn’t suck and they aren’t elite, Dallas defense does suck
October 17th, 2025 at 9:46 am
Who actually plays solid, consistent defense in today’s NFL?
October 17th, 2025 at 9:52 am
I laugh every time I hear some say or type “Wait until this team gets healthy”
Godwin – mistake to resign, he will not be back to his former glory until 26 if ever
Evans- Will be back on the field but is an aging player with a history of hamstrings
Egbuka- He will be back, but when and how effective will he be?
Irving- He will be back but the run scheme looks different than when Coen was here, hopefully his usage is less than prior to the injury
Luke G – Hopefully he’s back after the bye
Truth is this team will likely never be healthy on offense and they need to be as the defense doesn’t stop anyone, it really doesn’t matter if the defense is healthy or injured. It’s the same defense year after year, nothing is changing as long as Todd Blows is here
October 17th, 2025 at 9:59 am
There ya go with the negative waves, might as well just watch Blue Blood reruns
October 17th, 2025 at 10:10 am
I think they betrayal ranking is skewed by special teams. The defense has been iffy in moments but they’ve also had giant sections of games where they played pretty strongly. I think they get better every week. Special teams is getting better but they were outright terrible for quite a few games.
As for team health… Mike, Bucky and EE will be fine and playing for us pretty soon. And none of those are extremely severe. We’ll have to wait and see on Chris… same with Goedeki. So saying “wait till this team gets healthy” isn’t a good way to phrase it. It’s wait until the Bucs get HEATHLIER. Kansey and Mauch and even Kieft (bad year for gingers, huh?) definitely aren’t coming back and we never got a chance to see Walker in action. 😕
October 17th, 2025 at 10:13 am
It would be typical Bucs luck that when the team gets healthy, they start losing. (Sarcasm!)
I highly doubt it though! 😉 (Not sarcasm)
October 17th, 2025 at 10:27 am
Lions at home would be a hard game even if the Bucs had all their starters and imported a real special teams coach instead of Short Bus Magoo.
October 17th, 2025 at 10:35 am
Licht needs to add real Defensive help before the trade deadline is up. He wont do it though so add another 10 points to the Betrayal Index
October 17th, 2025 at 10:42 am
Okay, here are my thoughts, which are worth next to nothing, but I’ll put them out there anyway:
🏈 Development takes time, but improvement should start to show after 6-8 games. We have young players developing on defense. As of last game, they were better. Not great, but better. They still need time, but at least they are starting to trend upward now.
🏈 The goal is for them to get at least slightly above average (or better) by Playoff time. A team with a top offense likely won’t win a ring with a bad offense, but if that team is better than average, they have a fair shot.
🏈 Bowles Defense isn’t as bad as people think. He just needs to make adjustments better and not have the secondary play so far off their assignments. And he should never have them play Prevent. Keep their foot on opponent throats.
🏈 The defense may have been below average in most games, but they’ve also come up with big plays when it mattered most.
🏈 Special Team defense he been horrid, but even though ST Offense started rough, they’re getting better.
🏈 As to the injuries, there is a bright side: the depth has gotten much better. I am amazed at how well they are doing. That is a sign of championship caliber teams.
We’re not champions yet…but we don’t have to be. We just need to find ways to keep winning. We have until week 17 to get better.
October 17th, 2025 at 10:45 am
“A team with a top offense likely won’t win a ring with a bad DEFENSE”
I MEANT
October 17th, 2025 at 10:46 am
And.l.my original post disappeared, ool
October 17th, 2025 at 12:21 pm
You want to talk about “Rat Poison,” the conversation should start with this “betrayal index.”
October 17th, 2025 at 12:40 pm
I love this index, how trash is kyler murray, Trevor Lawrence. Josh Allen and Mahomes are carrying their teams.
I’d love to this index for past seasons
October 17th, 2025 at 1:49 pm
@Buccaneer Bonzai
I agree. 🏈
October 17th, 2025 at 4:15 pm
I absolutely 100% hope Baker wins MVP since it means the Bucs are winning – but arguing, or even caring, about winning the MVP in week 6 is just flat out embarrassing. Worry about winning that argument in week 16, 17 and 18, that’s when it matters.
October 17th, 2025 at 5:16 pm
Betrayal Index … Just stop.
(sick emoji) (barf emoji) (chocolate softserve emoji)
I love all the things the media comes up with and then they think it matters … QBR, PFF Grade, Power Rankings, Betrayal Index.
News Flash: Players and teams don’t think about this stuff. They don’t measure themselves by these things. None of it matters. Teams Win or Lose. Players contribute to the Win or Loss.
October 17th, 2025 at 6:42 pm
Lefty Says:
October 17th, 2025 at 9:46 am
Who actually plays solid, consistent defense in today’s NFL?
With the rules of the game skewed so heavily (compared to 25+ years ago) to produce lots of points and lots of offense in general, how can anyone expect any NFL team to produce great defense? The QB is nearly off limits, receivers get loads of protection from refs, and tackling is not emphasized.
October 17th, 2025 at 7:11 pm
Drooler and Lefty
The NFL started really reigning in Defense after the Bucs held the Rams to 11 in the NFC chip game..and that was without today’s gambling..
Now defense is just a formality. If by some chance a defense rears its ugly head, the Vegas officiating steps in…