Baker Mayfield Remains Optimistic Despite Bucs’ Loss

Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield did everything in his power to will the team to win over the 49ers on Sunday afternoon, but fell short and lost 23-20. Mayfield played a gritty game, one where there was not much going in the passing game. It was not all on him, but he shouldered the blame in his post-game press conference.

It is safe to say that Tampa Bay badly needs to get healthy to have any chance of going on a late-season run. Reeling off four straight losses and losing left tackle Tristan Wirfs and cornerback Zyon McCollum to injury during the game, this upcoming period of mental and physical rest is vital in getting healthy. With wide receiver Mike Evans and cornerback Jamel Dean nearing their own returns, the team hopes to piece things together and begin turning things around in Week 12 against the Giants.

Despite losing to San Francisco, the quarterback remained optimistic about the guys around him still fighting. Now more than ever, it comes down to everyone doing their job. The ship is not sinking, but the message going forward is that it will take all hands on deck to stay afloat.

Here is what Mayfield had to say following the Bucs’ fourth loss in a row that dropped them to 4-6:

Baker Mayfield’s Full Post-Game Transcript

Baker Mayfield on losing close games twice in one calendar week:

“It’s a matter of wins and losses, and we’re still not winning, so it still sucks. [We’ve] got to play to win down there at the end on offense. It’s trying to balance bleeding the clock out so they don’t have too much time, but also, go win the game. Unfortunately, [we] had a negative play down there that set us back a little bit. [I] just have to make a better throw, or win our one-on-one matchups, and somehow find a way to win. That’s all that matters.”

Baker Mayfield on if he would have wanted to go for it on fourth down on the final offensive possession:

“From that far out – no. Not a question.”

Baker Mayfield on the San Francisco 49ers ability to limit the production of tight end Cade Otton:

“With [Assistant Head Coach Brandon] Staley over there now, you can see his influence where they are dropping out the [defensive] ends a little bit more – simulated pressure. They did that a couple of times – they’d get underneath Cade on some of these choice routes or underneath stuff. They did a good job adjusting. That first half though, Cade was doing a lot of converting on third downs and was a big part of it.”

Baker Mayfield on the lack of completions to his wide receivers:

“Yeah – we are going to have to go back and look at the tape just to see if the footwork and the depth of the route timed up. But, a lot of that is just trust and timing. So, I’ll look at the tape – a lot of that stuff was underneath. I thought we ran the ball…obviously, [we were] trying to take control of the clock a little in the second half and the guys up front played well.

“I thought [right tackle] Justin Skule stepped up in a big way on the fly there. Two years in a row he had to step up and play against [Nick] Bosa on the fly coming into a big game. He did a great job, and the rest of the guys did, as well. As a skill group, we just have to take advantage of the matchups that we have and execute.”

Baker Mayfield on moving forward collectively after the upcoming Bye Week:

“We’ve got to get healthy. Take the week [to] get healthy [and] get your mind ready to make this stretch [run.] Lavonte [David] hit on it perfectly that we’re going to need everything that we possibly have down the road – one day at a time, in practice and in games. We’ve just got to put it together. We keep saying we’re that close, but it’s got to be the message. You have to believe in it, and then we just have to go execute. We have the group – the fight in what we’re doing at the end of games, the effort is never a question. That’s something that, ‘Alright, we have that. Now, let’s go execute.’ Just plain and simple – do your job and we’ll turn this thing around quickly.”

Baker Mayfield on whether the mental break is as important as the physical break during the Bye Week:

“With where we are at right now – yeah. Physical, definitely, with where we are at on the team – just the injuries and stuff we’ve had so far. But, the mental break with the recent results in the games. We need to step away from it, but don’t forget what has cost us these games and come back ready to fix it.”

Baker Mayfield on if the team had the belief they would win after a late fourth down conversion on the final drive when Mayfield escaped pressure and held off defenders for a completion:

“Yeah – you convert that and get a fresh set of downs down there. We talked about the negative play down there, where you hurt yourself trying to run out the clock, but also still wanting to score. It just comes down to executing and finding a way to win.”

Baker Mayfield on the impact of the numerous injuries to key starters for this team:

“Sometimes, that’s the way the season goes. Hopefully, Tristian [Wirfs] is not [a] serious [injury]. I just saw him and it looked like he was in a positive mindset, at least. So, that’s good – that’s a positive. But, [Justin] Skule has played a lot of ball. Whatever happens, going forward, we expect us to have success on offense no matter what. After the Bye, ‘13’ (Mike Evans) is coming back, so we’re ready for that.”

Baker Mayfield on the momentum being in the team’s favor on the final offensive drive:

“On that last drive, we finally got some calls our way. It took until the fourth quarter and the last drive to get it, but yeah, I thought we had it. I’m going to keep saying it – it just comes down to executing down in the red zone.”

Baker Mayfield on the development of the young wide receivers:

“‘Shep’ (Sterling Shepard) has played a lot of ball – he has stepped up in a big way for us. Then, you want to talk about ‘Rock’ (Rakim Jarrett) and Ryan Miller, specifically, I thought they played great. The young guys have stepped up in a big way and as we continue to adapt and adjust our schemes and personnel on the fly, I thought those guys have handled it well.”

Baker Mayfield on running backs Bucky Irving and Rachaad White stepping up:

“Those are guys we are going to lean on, and they know the importance of our run game [and] what we are trying to do having them both in at the same time and what that does to a defense. So, they have to take advantage of when they get the ball and have to cheer each other on when they don’t. But yeah, the second half of the year, we’re going to be full throttle. These guys have got to be ready to roll and we’ll get it turned around.”