Baker Mayfield Had More Clutch Moments In 2025 Than You May Think
June 24th, 2026
Has the clutch gene.
The Joe typing here is still shook by how the Bucs collapsed down the stretch, losing seven of their final nine games.
What really rattled Joe was how Baker Mayfield fell off a cliff after the bye. Excellent quarterbacks don’t allow their teams to circle the drain like that.
Further, the Bucs offense got healthy down the stretch, or at least healthier. Luke Goedeke, Bucky Irving, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans all came back to play in December. Yet the losing continued.
Not good.
So Joe reads how Mayfield is awful in the fourth quarter and is prone to throwing picks in crunch time. Well, the senior researcher for the NFL has evidence that Mayfield not being a clutch quarterback in the fourth quarter is hogwash. Per Tony Holzman-Escareno, whose Twitter handle is @NFL_Researcher, his data shows Mayfield was one of the more clutch quarterbacks in the league last season.
In fact, per Holzman-Escareno, only five quarterbacks had more first downs or touchdowns when tied or trailing by one score in the fourth quarter.
Now Mayfield wasn’t always money. He was third in the league in fourth-quarter picks, tied with Sam Darnold, Bo Nix, Cam Ward, Mac Jones and Brady Cook. Mayfield had one more fourth-quarter interception than Joe Burrow (among several others).
Those fourth-quarter splits on interceptions do not document how much time was left in the game or the score.
Could Mayfield have taken better care of the football in the fourth quarter? Sure. But it sure appears he made up for that by making several clutch plays to either keep the Bucs in the game or to win the damn game.
June 24th, 2026 at 7:09 am
Baker does make a lot of clutch please. That’s the main thing that I like about him but after he makes those close place, he will throw an interception or fumble or do something boneheaded to give it right back to the other team clutch plays is not the issue playing smart, protecting his body protecting the lead protecting the ball. Those are the issues if he didn’t make a clutch play from time to time it would be totally garbage.
June 24th, 2026 at 7:19 am
But, but but…I thought Rod Munch said that Baker singlehandedly lost every game he’s played for the Bucs. Huh.
June 24th, 2026 at 7:26 am
The issue with Baker is Baker Baker was hurt the last part of the season. Instead of taking a game two off to heal. He hurt his team by continuing to play if he would have took time to heal instead of losing all those games. I’m sure when he came back that he would have pulled a few of them out and won the coaching. Staff has to save Baker from himself and make sure they put a quarterback on the field that is 100%
June 24th, 2026 at 7:28 am
Baker choked in the Panthers, Eagles, Dolphins, Patriots and he threw a pick in the falcons game that would have closed out that game. Baker is not clutch in big games and that’s a fact. If you are not clutch in playoffs, or win and get in games then you are not a clutch quarterback. Having clutch moments in week 2 or even 5 is good but if you are not clutch in do or die games then week 2 or 5 don’t really matter.
June 24th, 2026 at 7:34 am
Of those initial 6 wins, I’m remembering he closed our 4 of them
June 24th, 2026 at 7:42 am
Baker wasn’t clutch in the Atlanta game when he threw a late pick letting them get back in the game. He wasn’t clutch when he threw behind EE on a 3rd down where he was wide open for the 1 first down to kill the clock, and looked like he might’ve scored. That said, the D was last on the field. Shouldn’t have come to that though if Baker was clutch.
June 24th, 2026 at 7:56 am
2025 is a write off year…. Let’s move on 5 productive years including a SB… I’m good lets look forward GO BUCS!!!
June 24th, 2026 at 8:07 am
This Guy is the Real Deal and deserves to get paid as such. We are so fortunate that after TB12 a QB of Franchise Quality in Baker fell into our laps. He truly has been “Born Again” in Tampa and is the Face and Future of this Organization. Let’s get him signed and see how much better our Putrid Pass Defense of the recent past can be improved with all the new faces. LFG!!
June 24th, 2026 at 8:13 am
While Baker did have some bad throws that lost games. Let’s not forget how many time he got us the lead in the 4th quarter only to watch the defense just give it away. The defense lost us at least 3 games. Those gamed would have made a serious difference in the season.
June 24th, 2026 at 8:19 am
Gotta agree with you Joe! This whole “Baker lost the game because of a pick” idea is nonsense. Most have rightly pointed the finger at the other side of the ball.
We would not need clutch from Baker if we could hold on to a lead and force some punts.
BTW I am of the mind that Goedeke is the only one who looked 100% after he got back in the lineup. Irving was not for sure, and Godwin looked like his old self maybe the last one or two games. Mikes health looked bad pretty much all year. Add to that the guards who should probably be coaching at their old high school…
June 24th, 2026 at 8:27 am
Franchise QB?? 28-26? Every playoff game ending on his interception instead of touchdown? C’mon man!! You’re better than that!
June 24th, 2026 at 8:27 am
Like I posted yesterday…we are d@mn lucky to have Mayfield.
June 24th, 2026 at 8:32 am
A team united can win contested games, but when some players decide to COAST/QUIT it’s like a Volkswagen trying to compeat against a muscle car.
We witnessed the Bucs implode last year. It’s on the Coaches and players to motivate everyone to play with a Baker Mayfield mentality.
We saw how Tom Brady join a team with a loser mentality and turn it into Super 👌 Bowl Championship team in its first year during Covid shutdown year.
That’s what a Winning Mentality can do for a team. Let’s GO BUCS.
June 24th, 2026 at 8:37 am
Most total first downs “or” TDs?
What’s the actual split between first downs & TDs? and does this count means we combined them?
By this QB-A would be higher on the list with 16 first downs and 6 TDs, than QB-B who generated 10 first downs and 11 TDs
A little fishy, no?
June 24th, 2026 at 8:45 am
Baker was pure dynamite first half of the season. Very clutch. Second half not so much, but neither was anybody else.
June 24th, 2026 at 9:02 am
Mayfield’s stats are padded by his early season good luck. During 2-7 he played like a stooge.
June 24th, 2026 at 9:02 am
2025 was indeed a write-off year. Team was shredded by injuries to crucial players mostly responsible for making the offense move.
June 24th, 2026 at 9:10 am
It’s almost like if you need to have your QB make not one but rather several comeback drives in the last few minutes of a game, because your putrid defense or special teams can’t keep the lead he just gave you, that said QB will eventually make a mistake and turn the ball over, statistically speaking this is bound to happen.
Most people are asked to make one comeback drive in a game and their team is then able to maintain said lead to run out the clock, but not the Bucs and some of their “fans”. Our QB is expected to make 2 sometimes 3 comeback drives in the last few minutes of a game, then when inevitably the 2nd or 3rd drive goes wrong, he gets the blame, not the defense that gave up the goose egg. Only in Tampa
June 24th, 2026 at 9:14 am
Get a 4 year contract for Baker and a 2 year contract for Vea done and we can call this one of the most successful offseasons ever. Let’s hope the players we brought in pan out. I think they will! And I think this team is headed for a very good record and lack of injuries willing a deep playoff run.
June 24th, 2026 at 9:14 am
So Mayfield had one more 4th quarter interception than Joe Burrow but more comeback drives than Joe, who doesn’t appear on that list at all but somehow, to some people here, Baker sucks but Joe Burrow is money. It’s almost like some people don’t live in reality and let their bias completely determine their opinion of Baker
June 24th, 2026 at 9:53 am
Baker is super clutch. Got it. You don’t go 2-7 down the stretch unless you’re clutch.
Just ask the 9 opponents who defeated us in 2025 how clutch Mayfield was in their victories.
Now I’m convinced. Pay Baker $70 mil per for five years. $350 mil total with $250 mil guaranteed.
That’s how you win Superbowls!!!!!