Baker Mayfield assigns blame for Buccaneers' 'TNF' loss to Falcons

Four days after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to a New Orleans Saints side that won't be participating in the playoffs, Tampa Bay suffered a brutal 29-28 defeat against the already-eliminated Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. 

Following the result that dropped Tampa Bay to 7-7, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield accepted blame for the fact that his club squandered a 14-point fourth-quarter lead. 

Baker Mayfield puts loss to Falcons on his shoulders

"We’re p----- off," Mayfield directly said, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "We expected to win that game. We want to win that game. Should be p----- off. And, like I said, when you’re up two scores and your offense has a chance to put the game away, and you don’t — obviously, people are gonna blame the defense, but it’s not the defense’s fault. It’s our fault. It’s my fault. And that’s that’s how I view it, and that’s how I’m gonna handle it."

The Buccaneers held a 28-20 lead with under nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when Mayfield threw a costly interception that kept Tampa Bay from putting more points on the scoreboard. Later, Tampa Bay possessed a two-point advantage when Mayfield failed to connect with rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka for what could have been a first down with 2:24 left on the clock. That drive ended with a punt, and the Buccaneers' offense never got the ball back. 

In Mayfield's defense, the Falcons faced 3rd-and-28 and 4th-and-14 situations on their final offensive drive but managed to pick up a first down that ultimately helped the visitors put Zane Gonzalez in position to kick a game-winning 43-yard field goal. Nevertheless, Mayfield refused to criticize his defense. 

Loss to Falcons will "haunt" Baker Mayfield

"It falls on my shoulders," Mayfield added about the defeat. "Can’t turn the ball over, can’t have that interception. And then, just gotta hit [Egbuka] in stride on that [second] down. Listen, you can say what you want about being up two scores and the defense right there, but we have to be better on offense, and it comes down to how I play. And this one’s gonna haunt me. This falls on my shoulders."

The loss dropped Tampa Bay to second place in the NFC South standings beneath the 7-6 Carolina Panthers. Carolina next plays at the 3-10 Saints this coming Sunday. As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Panthers as 2.5-point road favorites for that game. 

The Buccaneers and Panthers will face each other in Week 16 and again in Week 18.