Todd Bowles: Baker Mayfield 'Captaining The Ship Very Well'

Should the Bucs make the playoffs, Todd Bowles’ seat will be relatively cool while Baker Mayfield could be destined for a big deal in Tampa Bay or elsewhere. But if the team continues to stumble? It will likely be the last time Bowles is a head coach and Mayfield is signed to be a starting NFL quarterback.

Despite the outside noise that suggests otherwise, the Bucs’ head coach does not see the main issues popping up being the result of the team’s quarterback play.

“Baker is doing fine,” Bowles said. “It’s an offense as a total. Obviously, he gets all the credit when we win and he gets most of the blame when we lose. Baker is doing fine. He’s captaining the ship very well. He had no turnovers last game. We’ve just got to get in sync there.”

Bowles does make a strong argument backing his claim. With how the rest of the offense has played recently, the blame should not be placed squarely on Mayfield, although he does like carrying around a chip on his shoulder. Instead, one can use their fingers to point at a slew of issues.

From Dave Canales’ questionable playcalling getting the top weapons involved, the interior offensive line’s less-than-stellar play, to the absence of a run game most of the season, it has left Baker Mayfield putting together an offense that has pieces but has yet to build the complete puzzle. He is doing what he can and performing as well as anyone should have expected.

Baker Mayfield Performing About As Expected As Bucs’ QB

Throughout his NFL career, Baker Mayfield has been one of two things as a quarterback. He is either really good or replacement-level. In 2018 and 2020 with the Browns, he was the former, while in 2019, 2021, and 2022, he was the latter. There are stretches where Mayfield can look like a top-ten quarterback, and others where one questions if he is a starting-caliber signal-caller.

Seven games into 2023, he has looked more like the 2018-2020 version, but glimpses of his more recent play have started to creep in.

On the season, Baker Mayfield has completed 64.2% of his passes for an even 1,600 passing yards and 10 touchdowns to four interceptions. By most measures, it has been one of his more efficient spans of play. His completion percentage would be a career-high, while a 2.5 touchdown-to-interception ratio is nothing to scoff at.

But after starting the year off hot, things have started to cool for Mayfield and the Bucs’ offense. Tampa Bay has only averaged 12.3 points per game over the past three contests. After throwing seven touchdowns to two interceptions through four games, Mayfield has thrown for just three touchdowns and two interceptions in that three-game span. As of late, it appears that the confidence he has played with has wavered, and he looked antsy in the pocket against the Bills.

Looking at his season as a complete picture, however, is Baker Mayfield’s performance surprising? He has enough tools, talent, and charisma to prop up a team around him, as he has done in the past and has shown through his leadership abilities in recent weeks. But understandingly so, he can only do it for so long if the conditions around him are not the best. Mayfield has lacked adequate support at various junctures of his career but now is not the time for circumstances to unravel what had been an impressive start.

Baker Mayfield and the Bucs have 10 games remaining to determine a lot about their future and the direction in which they steer the ship. Bowles is surely placing his hope in that he has the right captain leading the charge.