Numbers Suggest Baker Mayfield Earned His Bread
June 29th, 2026
“Baker, you’ve got the numbers. Get your bag!”
This will rankle some folks but Joe doesn’t believe this is crazytalk.
Hey, Joe doesn’t have an ego. If a fan has a good story idea, of course Joe is interested. And that goes for someone who uses the Twitter handle @bucs3000. This man (?) sent Joe the stats of when Tom Brady was slinging the rock for the Bucs and for when Baker Mayfield has been barking signals.
Naturally, Brady has better numbers but not by as much as you may think.
Remember, Brady in his first two Bucs seasons, played in Bucco Bruce Arians’ no-risk-it-no-biscuit offense. And Brady ranked No. 1 in the NFL in pass attempts (and the Bucs were last in rushing attempts) in 2022 under Todd Bowles.
Mayfield has played all three seasons with the Bucs using a run-heavy approach.
There was no question that, even in his mid-40s, Brady was the best in the business. Mayfield’s not No. 1. He’s no Brady, but he’s not bad, that’s for sure. (At least if you don’t factor in the final nine games last year.)
So based on the Bucs stats alone, Joe thinks Mayfield has a helluva case for a nice raise.
June 29th, 2026 at 4:55 am
“There was no question that, even in his mid-40s, Brady was the best in the business. Mayfield’s not No. 1. He’s no Brady, but he’s not bad, that’s for sure. (At least if you don’t factor in the final nine games last year.)”
The recurring theme is to make Baker look like a good QB you have to ignore the final 9 games of a playoff push and compare him to the GOAT who out-played Baker in his 40s. The stat sheet confirms what I’ve been saying, Baker is a RB playing QB. That explains his inconsistent, horrible mechanics in the pocket.
Look at the Awards and Honors section. If that doesn’t tell you Probowl is a joke, I don’t know what will. You should just compare Baker to Jesus at this point, this is how ridiculous its gotten. Funny thing is you don’t have to compare Brady to anyone to make him look good. He passes the eye test and the stat test.
June 29th, 2026 at 6:25 am
Brady had a better supporting cast. Especially on defense
June 29th, 2026 at 6:34 am
So basically, Brady had a whole lot more pass attempts (although that stat does not appear), one less interception per year and four more TDs per year. Oh, and Brady couldn’t find his way out of a paper bag when protection broke down but he ran more QB sneaks at the goal line. Other than that, their stats are within a percentage point of one another.
One sure played with a whole lot better players on his team, both offensively and defensively, though.
June 29th, 2026 at 6:45 am
Baker clearly forgot how to play QB after the bye. That HAS to be the explanation
June 29th, 2026 at 6:54 am
Bee I can’t listen to anything else you have to say. Baker is a running back playing qb are you serious. That’s really what you believe. He has averaged a little over 3 carries a game. I mean that is just screaming workhorse running back. Has a whole 1.3 more carries a game the tom the bulldozer Brady does. People get so blinded with hate.
June 29th, 2026 at 7:35 am
Stats are for losers.
2-7 down the stretch is not ONLY about Mayfield. But Mayfield was the QB for that shameful debacle. QBs take the heat for the losses.
Licht and Bowles share in the shake in the blame. So do the following losers and loafers: SVD. Winfield. Bored Zyon. Reddick the fraud. Yaya the 90% effort guy. Kancey the chandelier. Lavonte David, who suddenly looked average. The Special Teams. The feckless OC. The invisible Braswell.
As for the overall lack of any pride and enthusiasm, that’s on Bowles.
The biggest scandal is the lying by Bowles and Licht about the team’s talent and hunger.
What stat is there for the bottom collapsing?
June 29th, 2026 at 7:37 am
what about wins @joe?…do the wins suggest he deserves his bread?…lol…que the excuses lol
GO BUCS!!!!
June 29th, 2026 at 7:49 am
Dude threw 41 TDs in 2024 and ran some in. He has had a 90+ rating the last 3 years. Yeah he gets really streaky at times but, you have to pay him at this point in my opinion. Its going to be in that 55+ mill range. That’s just the going rate.
June 29th, 2026 at 7:50 am
Baker’s been much better than I expected, and his stats are solid. Much better than many past Buccaneer quarterbacks. Baker will get paid, but I want to see what he does this season before shelling out $50+ million per season.
June 29th, 2026 at 7:55 am
LOL, hilarious.
June 29th, 2026 at 8:03 am
Many of Mayfield’s turnovers in the final games of 2025 were mental errors. Maybe we need to add PTSD to the list of Bakers injuries.
June 29th, 2026 at 8:16 am
Jeefbuc
Yes, a RB playing QB. I’m not talking about rushing attempts and rush yards. Im talking about the fact that if Baker can’t run, he cant play the QB position. Think sir, when has Baker ever picked a defense apart, consistently? How good is his deep ball accuracy? How often does he thread the needle on throws over 10 yards?
All last season after every game we saw Bakers passing chart where he would have one or two completed passes over 10 yards for the entire game. 5 of the last 9 games he threw for under 250 yds. Thats why when the Bucs ask him to protect himself and stop running so much, he can’t and won’t. Its the only thing he does well. If he stops running, hes basically useless.
June 29th, 2026 at 8:25 am
Just cannot wait for Baker to sign the new contract and stop all this nonsense.
Remember Brady had ME13 and CG in their prime along with Gronk. (and AB). Baker is the only legitimate option for the next 3 years. He’s minimum a top 15 NFL qb . Bucs are the ones posturing to try and get less to pay and less years.
June 29th, 2026 at 8:25 am
Baker played well enough to win the New England, Buffalo, and Atlanta games. Baker doesn’t cover kickoffs and he doesn’t play cornerback or linebacker.
June 29th, 2026 at 8:30 am
There is only one Tom Brady without question. Fans so quickly dismiss Mayfield’s winning record (or lack thereof) don’t stop for a second to check out the losing teams he’s played for. Cleveland, Carolina & he started the Bucs rebuild after our hall of fame players retired. Not his fault he was drafted by a dysfunctional organization. I’ll bet he lights it up this year!
June 29th, 2026 at 8:32 am
He will sign but I would advise him to not try and break tackles and go for extra yards on the run,, we were wowed by a couple of them but in the end it led to injury …. Get him to a week worth of Rays practices and team him how to slide . He was obviously hurt the last nine games you freaks , He went into the tent about 10 times this year and each time I thought he would be out for a month, yet he continued playing . Get a back up that can go 2-2 in 4 games , teach Baker how to protect himself , improve the D and special teams and that will lead to wins and hopefully playoff wins
June 29th, 2026 at 8:49 am
Bee, those numbers do include the final 9 games of 2025. If you don’t include them, the numbers would suggest that Baker has been far better STATISTICALLY! Even more so if you include the playoffs. When it comes down to team success though, Brady wins in a landslide. Interestingly, Brady’s only bad season was his season with Bowles at the helm. Baker’s had him for all 3 of his seasons. At the end of the day, you cannot compare the 2020 and 2021 Bucs teams to the last 4 years. Those 2 years were far superior personnel wise and coaching wise.
June 29th, 2026 at 9:16 am
Winning is the only stat that matters!!!
June 29th, 2026 at 9:24 am
I’m seeing all those stats and thinking to myself “it was definitely all Baker’s fault that the Bucs missed the playoffs last year — definitely no truth in the fact that the defense totally collapsed; it was all Baker’s fault.”
Optimistic Says:
June 29th, 2026 at 8:03 am
Many of Mayfield’s turnovers in the final games of 2025 were mental errors. Maybe we need to add PTSD to the list of Bakers injuries.
I’d argue that they were less mental errors and more Winston errors. Different errors, but still errors. I’m of the opinion that Winston’s biggest problem was that, even with that wealth of talent he had, he was better in his head than he was in reality and the difference caused him to try and force things to happen which weren’t likely to occur (or worse, impossible to accomplish). Being behind in games and trying to will the team to a win tends to cause QB’s to make riskier plays. Just sayin’.
June 29th, 2026 at 9:27 am
Grrr…. you said nice things about Baker…grrrrr….me mad now!
Also, that Yards per Carry comp, LOL. Just goes to show how special TB was. They knew he wasn’t going anywhere and they still couldn’t do anything about it.
June 29th, 2026 at 9:33 am
Big season for Baker. Hopefully he plays lights out and earns a fat new contract. As a Buc fan, we should all be hoping for that.
June 29th, 2026 at 9:39 am
Oscar
Re-read the quote from Joe I provided where he mentioned that Baker “isnt that bad if you dont count the last nine games of 2025”. Thats why I said what I said. I only judge Baker on what he can control. His completion % is always bottom half of the league with 2024 being the exception. All those stats you and others love, how did those stats help win games in the last 9 games of the 2025 season? What stats helped Baker in the 2024 WC game? What stats helped him in the divisional round in Detroit in 2023?
Baker isnt a winner when the stakes are at their highest. If all those stats you love were meaningful then he’d have an extension right now right?
June 29th, 2026 at 9:47 am
“Just goes to show how special TB was. They knew he wasn’t going anywhere and they still couldn’t do anything about it.”
Especially in 2021. Yes, we won a title in 2020, but man that 2021 offense was probably the most explosive offense in this franchises history. Led the league in pass attempts and completions, 5,300 pass yards, 43 TDs, 141 explosive plays w/Tom throwing 67 passes of +20 yards or more, & 10 different guys catching at least 1 TD.
Schematically, big difference between that ’21 vertical attack compared to the dink & dunk, YAC reliant pass attack we’ve been running.
June 29th, 2026 at 10:12 am
You just compared TB12 to Baker and made the case that they are on par?
You forgot playoff wins and losses in your stat sheet. Maybe add 4th Qrt TO?
June 29th, 2026 at 10:16 am
Give Mayfield the 2020 and 2021 TB Bucs and watch him beat Brady’s numbers.
Mayfield has done about the same with a much worse supporting cast at nearly every position on this team.
June 29th, 2026 at 10:24 am
“Give Mayfield the 2020 and 2021 TB Bucs and watch him beat Brady’s numbers.”
It’s stuff like this that makes some of the stuff said on here sound ridiculous, because you’re inferring that Mayfield & Brady are capable of the same things from the pocket as individuals. Baker would be Blaine Gabbert on our 2020 & 2021 teams, cut it out
June 29th, 2026 at 10:45 am
Here’s the thing about Mayfield-
He’ll have great games vs 49ers and Seahawks…
Then he’ll get outplayed by Quinn Ewers last year and Cooper Rush the year before.
BTW, that same Cowboys team went to Philadelphia the next week and let Kenny Pickett put 41 points on them.
He’s inconsistent…more good games than bad, but until he takes the Bucs deep in the playoffs (NFC Championship game), he should not be paid like he’s a top 10 QB.
June 29th, 2026 at 10:47 am
Let’s face it – Seattle won the SB last season with Sam “freaking” Darnold at QB playing against a 2nd year QB…
The jig is up. Teams know they can win a SB without P. Mahomes at QB.
Look for QB prices to dip a bit. Sorry Baker.
Teams that paid Watson, Tua and others those idiotic contracts will continue to suffer the consequences of stupidity.
June 29th, 2026 at 10:56 am
Nice stat comparison, puts it in perspective a bit. Still going to be hard for the Baker haters to digest.
Pay the man before he gets too expensive. Signing Baker now means you get a chance to keep one more of the players on defense. Waiting means you get to decide, later, which of your defensive children you love the least.
June 29th, 2026 at 11:42 am
This guy is a Franchise QB. He would not last 10 minutes on the Free Agent market. People are just Haters. We are lucky to have “Born Again” Baker as our QB. Sign the Man! Go BUCS!
June 29th, 2026 at 11:44 am
Please pay him so Joe can give it a rest.
June 29th, 2026 at 11:47 am
It’s not a question of whether Baker is deserving of the raise, it’s a matter of timing. What happens if they suck this year, fire the coach and now the new coach is saddled with a QB he may not want. The organization has to believe that he is the franchise QB and they can win with him, no matter the coach. Otherwise, we may be in a rebuild. And of course, if we do well this year, our OC will likely leave to be a HC. And this cycle continues…
June 29th, 2026 at 11:56 am
SOMEONE, has to get the “numbers” when they are literally starting and playing in EVERY game, start to finish… And, having to throw the ball for EVERY DOWN, throughout the entire 4th-Quarter, from almost always trailing and being in close games. Outside of the ONE season with COEN, he’s looked HORRENDOUS through the first 3-Quarters of almost EVERY ballgame (and a lot of times, even the 4th, but will still get his “stats”). I’m not sure I’ve EVER seen a QB pick up more EMPTY stats than him. He’s been SO BAD early in ballgames, that it’s really amazing that our Defense kept it close enough, just to keep us in the game. Can’t pick up 1st-Downs. Can’t score TD’s. Except for that one season with COEN. It’s still kind of shocking they let him go that easily! I mean, THAT decision should’ve already been MADE before the season had even ended (like I said at the time, with still a few games left). It was so plain and easy to see. You HAVE TO make those tough decisions like that, when you are running/owning a team. You have to always be on your toes, with your head on a swivel at all times, while constantly looking for EVERY advantage possible, for your team’s future path. You CANNOT lose a guy like COEN. Not when your current head coach is the 62-YEAR OLD, Todd Freaking BOWLES. You JUST CAN’T.
June 29th, 2026 at 11:56 am
“lol que the excuse lol”
– An intellectual
June 29th, 2026 at 12:18 pm
The only thing capable of turning TB12 into a loser was the genius of Toad Bowels the defensive guru extraordinaire.
In defense of Baker he’d look even better with a real HC and DC.
But that doesn’t excuse the 1-9 prime time record or the 2-7 stretch of 2025.
The common factor of failure: Todd Bowles
He just flat sucks at both of his gifted jobs.
June 29th, 2026 at 12:47 pm
@bee
Forgot to check for whose name starts a comment and ended up reading your post until I got to
“. The stat sheet confirms what I’ve been saying, Baker is a RB playing QB. ”
Confirming why i just skip over some of you guy’s posts
Just utterly dumb
June 29th, 2026 at 12:55 pm
Scotty Mack —
One thing I noticed with Brady and the eyeball test immediately when he got to the team was that he played to live another down or play later in the game.
Different from Jameis or Baker, early in the game some of the plays he would actually bail on extremely early to avoid negative plays.
In his three seasons, he took a total of 65 sacks despite being less mobile that Jameis or Baker. Baker in his three seasons took 116 sacks.
Brady made every single one of his offensive lines (in both NE and Tampa) look better because he did not try to extend plays early in the game. He threw the ball in the ground more than any other great quarterback I remember.
It was the 2020 season early when we were playing Green Bay. It was like a 3rd and 4 to 6 I think at mid field and the Bucs were down by 10 at that point. I thought Godwin was open and Brady threw in his direction but clearly right into the ground. I guess Brady thought it was too early in the game to risk that pass with a defender trying to undercut Godwin. Again, it looked no where close to me to the defender could get there but Brady was waiting.
The Bucs with Brady there no Int, no sack waiting for the play to get better. Just a guy that understood that you don’t have to force plays and understanding the concept of 4 quarters and him having his chance.
Personally, I do not think that Baker has ever showed that specific skill set.
Comparing Baker to Brady is bad for Baker IMHO.
June 29th, 2026 at 1:03 pm
Please stick to one screen name. –Joe
June 29th, 2026 at 1:06 pm
If you took out the last 9 games of 2025 when he was hurt he would be statistically superior to Tom. Bakers problem is he refuses to sit when hurt. If he would his numbers would be FAR better!!
June 29th, 2026 at 1:09 pm
That’s right Jeef Bee is as blind as a freaking bat.
June 29th, 2026 at 1:12 pm
Strange how their INTERCEPTIONS are about equal!! And ALL THE TALK about how Bakers interception rate was sooo horrendous. But wait…Tom’s was horrendous too, imagine that. Once again the haters are proven totally wrong again. LMAO
June 29th, 2026 at 1:18 pm
LOL!
June 29th, 2026 at 1:27 pm
Well well well Says:
June 29th, 2026 at 1:12 pm
Strange how their INTERCEPTIONS are about equal!! And ALL THE TALK about how Bakers interception rate was sooo horrendous.
————-
First, they played in different offenses. Brady was playing in Arians aggressive, downfield offense, where Manning threw 28 INTs, Winston threw 30 INTs, and even Brady managed to tie his career high in INTs with 17.
Baker has played in short passing offenses.
Brady was throwing a lot, lot more high risk passes.
Second, Brady threw nearly 400 more passes – had a 1.6% INT rate vs Bakers 2.2% INT rate.
Thirdly, I couldn’t care less about INTs so long as you’re finishing the game with more points than the other team, and Brady’s record was 32-18 with a SB win – and the NFC South wasn’t a complete joke yet early on when he was still facing Cam, Ryan and Brees. Meanwhile, Baker’s record is 27-24, despite playing the easiest schedule in football.
Fourthly, Brady’s QBR over his time in Tampa was 66.0 per year. Baker’s QBR in Tampa, is 55.0. That’s a giant difference, the difference between middling, and Super Bowl winner. Not to mention Brady’s numbers were all dragged down after Arians retired and Leftwich was left in charge of the offense. There’s a reason no NFL team has even talked to Leftwich since he was fired by the Bucs.
The idea that Baker is in any way comparable to Brady is a joke.
June 29th, 2026 at 1:36 pm
Some more numbers for you…
Brady, 294 yards per game
Baker, 239 yards per game
(Almost 1000 yards difference per season)
Brady, 65 sacks
Baker, 116 sacks
June 29th, 2026 at 1:37 pm
“Strange how their INTERCEPTIONS are about equal!! And ALL THE TALK about how Bakers interception rate was sooo horrendous.”
Baker played 1 more game than Brady in this state comparison and Brady still clears him in total yards, yards per game, completion %, and threw 13 more TDs having played in 1 less GAME tf are you talking about?
Not because of their teammates, or coaches, simply because Tom plays the QB position better. Shouldn’t even have to be said because it’s so obvious, but here we are.
Wanna compare who catalyzed more explosive pass plays? Who had more YAC contributing to their passes compared to air yards? Efficiency? Or just the the higher level of confidence we as fans had going into games with Tom as our QB in comparison?
Gunslinger vs a Bonafide sniper, you know what sets them apart? Risk tolerance and efficiency
June 29th, 2026 at 1:59 pm
Joe,
You compared the apples, but you did not compare the oranges.
When Brady came to Tampa, he signed for 12% of the salary cap, which is the kind of money Baker is playing for now.
AFTER he won the Super Bowl IN TAMPA, Brady got a raise that took him to the 16% of cap that Baker would be asking for at $50M without even an NFC Championship appearance.
Yes, put incentives in the contract to pay Baker the percentage of cap that Brady got AFTER he brought a Super Bowl Victory to Tampa IF Baker brings a Super Bowl Victory to Tampa. Meanwhile, save some money to build and sustain a complete team that can carry a QB to Super Bowl Victory.
June 29th, 2026 at 2:02 pm
P.S.,
I was not shouting.
The all caps were for emphasis as I learned it in school when we wrote programs on punch cards for the one hour per week we had access to the mainframe at what is now CFU.
June 29th, 2026 at 2:11 pm
As usual using stats to say something they don’t WBL. And the stats that you use he only leads him by a very little. And Baker leads in others. Baker is a loser according to you. But the loser is right there with the GOAT. So as usual your opinion is a total lie. When you have stats that are this close to the GOAT, you aren’t a bad qb. In fact you are a darn good qb. No matter what you haters say. This proves you losers are just that, losers again. 🤣😂🤣😂🤣
June 29th, 2026 at 2:14 pm
Brady, 65 sacks
Baker, 116 sacks
I mean wow! Old man Brady took half the sacks in a more aggressive offense throwing the ball 400 more times than Baker. Lmao…Baker is so bad. And people will call me dumb but won’t offer a counter point. Baker is a better runner than passer.
Mentioning his name in the same sentence as Brady is what’s really dumb. Yall have to grasp at too many straws to prop him up.
The owners, GM and HC have all the stats and analytics on Baker and he doesn’t have a multi-year extension. They had the same data on Mike Evans and offered him more money to stay and he was injured last season.
Why do these facts make you think the Bucs want Baker to stay long term?
June 29th, 2026 at 2:14 pm
Who cares about your numbers Rodney. The real numbers are what Joe put up and BM6 is a far better qb than what you losers want to give him credit for and this proves it. Take out this year’s hurt 9 games and he would lead Tom Brady!!!! You really can’t make this stuff up.
June 29th, 2026 at 2:26 pm
Rodney, useless stats as usual. Taking things out of context. The reality is Baker even hurt plays close to Tom. And the stats Joe put up proves it. Just downright hilarious. WE WILL SEE WHO IS RIGHT AS SOON AS THE NEW CONTRACT COMES OUT. You boys/haters will be reminded who was right and who was wrong about our qb. If he is given in the $50 million range you boys will be proven wrong AGAIN
June 29th, 2026 at 2:28 pm
That is a good point Well well well. If BM6 gets $50 million he will undoubtedly be one of the better qb in the league. A far cry from what the haters have been lying about him for 3 years now. Let’s just sit back and see who is right…
June 29th, 2026 at 2:39 pm
Bakers playoff turnovers suggest otherwise
We ain’t even make the playoffs last year
June 29th, 2026 at 2:41 pm
Where’s the big talkers now?? Bee, Rod WBL, Melvin, Oneil??? Put up or shut up…
If Mayfield gets $50 or more you boys have to support our qb. No more bad mouthing him. Here is your chance to do more than talk.
June 29th, 2026 at 2:47 pm
I agree with well well well. Put up or shut up haters. $50 million a year and you support Mayfield. No more running him down. After all why wouldn’t you take the bet. You boys have been telling us for 3 years that he is middling at best. There is no way a middling qb would ever get $50 million. If you don’t take the bet you obviously don’t believe in all your talk. And that will say everything about you.