Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield feared the worst after injury scare vs. Panthers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield temporarily exited what became a 26-23 overtime win at the Carolina Panthers on Sunday after he had his right ankle accidentally stepped on. 

Following the victory that improved Tampa Bay to 6-6 on the season, Mayfield admitted he feared the worst while he was being examined at Carolina's Bank of America Stadium.

"Honestly, it scared the daylights out of me," Mayfield said about the injury, as shared by the JoeBucsFan website. "I have seen some people pop their Achilles before and they say it feels like you get cleated in the back. Obviously not knowing what exactly happened, that’s what I thought it did."

Mayfield was a mixed bag throughout the game against a Carolina team that fell to 3-9. He completed 21-of-33 pass attempts for 235 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, but he also helped get the Buccaneers in field-goal range before Chase McLaughlin sent the contest to overtime. McLaughlin then won the game after both offenses possessed the ball during the extra period. 

According to Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk, Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles told reporters on Monday that Mayfield should be "comfortable" enough to play in this coming Sunday's home game versus the 2-10 Las Vegas Raiders.

"We’ve got to be smarter with the football," Bowles said about Mayfield's two picks against Carolina. "One was third-and-short. One, he scrambled and nobody was open, he flipped it to the side, and the guy made a play -- just got to get it out of bounds at that time. Less than two minutes, or two-minute situation going on. He’s going to make some mistakes, he understands that. But he gathered himself, he got back together after halftime and he made some plays." 

While the Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons both began Monday at 6-6, first-place Atlanta holds the tiebreaker advantage as it pertains to the division standings after it earned two wins over Tampa Bay earlier in the season. For what it's worth, a banged-up Mayfield did enough this past January to guide his team to the NFC South division title and a playoff win over the Philadelphia Eagles. 

As of Monday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Buccaneers as seven-point favorites over the lowly Raiders.