Flip side of Baker Mayfield's magic is the inherent risk involved To be fair, the pass rush was fierce. Linebacker Joshua Uche quickly got around right tackle Charlie Heck and forced Baker Mayfield out of the pocket. Mayfield began scrambling right, saw Philadelphia defensive tackle Jalen Carter and cut left. Facing more pressure from that direction, Mayfield reversed field again, shook off a hit from Carter and ran toward the sideline with three Eagles in pursuit. Meanwhile, Chris Godwin had found an open patch of grass in the corner of the end zone and was in position for a potential game-tying touchdown. Furthermore, Mayfield's throw appeared to have been slightly tipped by safety Reed Blankenship, who leapt up with arms extended. In the end, Mayfield made only one real mistake: He tried too hard to win the game. It is his allure and, occasionally, his curse. Mayfield will run, twist, squirm and fight to keep a play alive. He is the first quarterback in the modern era to lead his team to last-minute victories in three consecutive games to begin a season. But what was potentially the greatest comeback of the bunch fell a little short in a 31-25 loss Sunday when Mayfield threw an interception with the Bucs 11 yards from a possible touchdown. The turnover, obviously, hurt. What hurt even more is that it was only first down, so the risk was unnecessary. This is part of the package when Mayfield is your quarterback. His never-say-die persona endears him to the fans in the highest reaches of a stadium, but his competitiveness sometimes gets the best of him. "Obviously, he has to take better care of the ball," Todd Bowles said. "Baker will be the first one to tell you that." And that, predictably, is just what Mayfield said. Even if it was somewhat begrudgingly. "We're you're in the red zone, (it's) obviously a one-score game, we're driving, we have momentum at that point," Mayfield said. "(I've) just got to be careful. Chris was there if I was able to get the right throw off, but if I'm not able to do that, just tuck it. Play the next down." That's the conundrum. Would you love Baker as much if he wasn't such a swashbuckler? Could a smallish quarterback with less-than-dramatic mobility throw more touchdown passes than anybody in the NFL over the past three seasons if he wasn't willing to take risks? Would the Bucs be 3-1 and leading the NFC South if Mayfield wasn't running the offensive huddle? "I don't know what happened (on the interception) but what I will say is he's a warrior," said Bucs center Graham Barton. "I'll live and die with that guy no matter what happens. We need to be able to give him more time on some of those crucial throws. We'll fight until the end with Baker. Never worry about him or his performance. He's a stud. He fought through today and he played, I thought, he played really well." That is beyond dispute. On a day when his right tackle and right guard were missing, when future Hall of Famer Mike Evans was on the sideline along with fellow receiver Jalen McMillan, when the Bucs struggled to get a consistent running attack, Mayfield kept the offense going. Losing 24-6 in the third quarter, he scrambled right and heaved the ball more than 40 yards to Emeka Egbuka, who had gotten behind the safety. With defensive backs Andrew Mukuba and Blankenship leaping from either direction, the ball somehow eluded both and fell in Egbuka's arms on his way to a 77-yard touchdown reception. The argument could be made that the risk was somewhat similar to the interception in the end zone. Except, in this case, it jumpstarted the comeback attempt. "Really good ball by Bake," said Egbuka. "Obviously on the run, really far down the field, it's not easy to do." A short time later, Mayfield stepped up in the pocket and found Bucky Irving one-on-one on the sideline with linebacker Jihaad Campbell a step behind him. Mayfield dropped the ball perfectly in Irving's arms for a 72-yard touchdown pass. It's the first time in seven years that an NFL quarterback has thrown two TD passes of 72 yards or more in the same game, according to Pro Football Reference. Ironically, the last time was also a Bucs-Eagles game when Ryan Fitzpatrick hit two bombs in a 27-21 Tampa Bay victory. So, yeah, it's totally fair to point the finger at Mayfield for the interception, but you're also obliged to give him credit for putting the Bucs in position to win. Just as he did in Week 1. And Week 2. And Week 3. "One of my favorite guys to watch in the NFL," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said of Mayfield. "I said that to him after the game because I (have) a lot of respect for him." John Romano, Tampa Bay Times, published 29 September 2025