Baker Mayfield Takes Umbrage With NFL Rule

In an NFL world where the league does almost everything it can to protect the quarterback, it was a call that wasn’t made at the end of the Bucs’ last game that has Baker Mayfield heated going into holiday season.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield Photo by: USA Today

Theres’ no love lost between Baker Mayfield and 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa going back to their college days. That heightened the moment even more. Late in the fourth quarter with the Bucs’ trailing 27-14, they had the ball at the Niners’ 9-yard line when Mayfield threw an interception that essentially sealed the game.

Mayfield was making his case to the referee that there should’ve been a foul on the play for a hit by Bosa, where he brought him down with a horse collar tackle. The problem is, a horse collar tackle is legal in the pocket, which Bosa pointed out to him as well.

You can watch the video here:

Baker Mayfield Chimes In On The No-Call

On Wednesday, the opinionated quarterback shared his feelings about the rule. We’re at Thanksgiving, but it might as well have been Festivus as Mayfield aired his grievance.

“I think it’s a bullshit rule,” Baker Mayfield said. “If the guy lands on my legs when it happens, it’s just as bad as a horse collar in the open field. It’s one of those rules that is in the rule book, but I don’t know.”

As Mayfield said, it’s in the rulebook so it’s technically a legal play, but is it a good one to have? We’ve seen a lot more ridiculous penalties for roughing the passer. The NFL has gotten it to the point where sometimes it feels impossible to hit the quarterback.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and OC Dave Canales – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

You put too much weight on the quarterback – penalty. Lay a finger on the passer’s helmet – penalty. Hit him below the knee – penalty. One second too late based on the jurisdiction of one referee – penalty. Time and time again we’ve seen bogus calls for roughing the passer and yet an act that is deemed a penalty in most other scenarios all of a sudden isn’t? Mayfield might have a point.

Why is a horse collar penalty everywhere else except for this instance? For a league that tries to ban and regulate everything, this comes as quite odd.

A facemask penalty is a facemask penalty regardless of if it’s pulled for a second or five seconds. Holding calls don’t matter if it’s 5 yards or 25 yards down the field, or whether it’s by an offensive lineman or a defensive back.

Does Baker Mayfield Have A Case?

I’m all for making the game more physical and taking away stupid penalties that myself included have been critical of the NFL for. I’m just wondering what’s going on with this one?

Baker Mayfield has taken a number of hits through his career, including a number of tough moments already with the Bucs. He’s been deemed as a gritty quarterback with moxie, but that doesn’t mean he should get lit up all the time without any other fallouts.

His offensive coordinator Dave Canales had Mayfield’s back about the calls he isn’t getting.

“There’s a lot of stuff that I think Baker is not getting called right now,” Canales said. “I’d love for him to get the same protections that a lot of other quarterbacks do.”