The injury-riddled Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost quarterback Baker Mayfield to a shoulder injury in a 34-7 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and they've now lost four of five games — but to the best teams in the league. They are 6-5 now, but have the easiest schedule in the league going forward.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been dealing with injuries to many of their best players all season, and that disturbing trend continued Sunday night when quarterback Baker Mayfield went down with a left shoulder sprain in the second quarter and did not return.
The Bucs were never in the game and got trounced 34-7 by the red-hot Los Angeles Rams, who are 9-2 and have the best record in the NFC. Mayfield was later seen on the sidelines with a sling on his left arm. He will have an MRI on Monday when the Bucs return to Tampa from California.
The Bucs had just 191 yards of total offense and were down 21-0 just five minutes into the second quarter. Tampa Bay is now 6-5 on the season, and their big lead in the NFC South has now completely disappeared.
Here's the full game story from Bucs Roundtable beat writer Dave Scheiber.
The Bucs have now lost three straight games and four of five, but they've also had the most difficult schedule in the NFL to date, according to TeamRankings.com. They've lost to the New England Patriots (10-2) and Rams (9-2), who have the two best records in the league. The other two losses were to Detroit (7-4) and Buffalo (7-4), who were both preseason Super Bowl favorites.
Veteran Teddy Bridgewater replaced Mayfield and was just 8-for-15 passing for 62 yards. The 12-year veteran has won as a backup before in New Orleans, replacing Drew Brees in 2019 and winning five straight games.
“He’s a veteran … he knows what to do,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said of Bridgewater. “He kind of minimized some of the damage. We didn’t make some of the plays we wanted to. But given a full week of practice, taking every rep, if he has to play in a game next week, we’ll be confident in him.”
The Bucs defense needs to get better quick, too. During this three-game losing streak, they've given up a whopping 106 points, the worst in the NFL.
“Today wasn’t our best day at all playing our brand, our style of football,” Bucs linebacker Lavonte David said. “Defensively, for sure. So (we’ve) just got to get better, man. Everybody just needs to take a hard look in the mirror … figure out what kind of player you want to be. Not a team. What kind of player you want to be and just get better.
“But we’re going to take this one and learn from (it). It definitely stings a lot, but we are going to get better.”
The Bucs are tied for the lead in the NFC South with the 6-5 Carolina Panthers, who play Monday night in San Francisco. The Bucs' season is all in front of them, with two games remaining against Carolina among their final six, plus division games at home against Atlanta and New Orleans.
Their non-division games aren't daunting, facing the 3-8 Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and the 4-7 Miami Dolphins on Dec. 28.
If Carolina loses on Monday night, the Buccaneers wouldn't have a single game left against a team with a winning record. TeamRankings.com says the Bucs have the easiest schedule of all 32 teams going forward.
And Bridgewater is confident that he can win games if his number gets called. It will also that the Bucs are home at Raymond James Stadium the next three weeks.
“I’m very confident, and if it’s my turn, my number, I’ve just got to answer the bell,” Bridgewater told reporters after the game.
“... It’s unfortunate it came by way of an injury. Baker is a tough guy. He tried to come back out there (Sunday) and tough it out for the guys, and it says a lot about him. It says a lot about this team.”
The Bucs have won four straight NFC South titles. There's no guarantee they'll get to No. 5, but the schedule is certainly in their favor. Now they need some injury news to start falling in their favor as well.
What the Bucs have done so far
Sept. 7 (Sun.) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated Atlanta Falcons 23-20 in Atlanta, Ga.
Sept. 15 (Mon.) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated Houston Texans 20-19 in Houston, Texas.
Sept. 21 (Sun) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated New York Jets 29-27 in Tampa, Fla.
Sept. 28 (Sun.) — Philadelphia Eagles defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-25 in Tampa, Fla.
Oct. 5 (Sun.) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated Seattle Seahawks 38-35 in Seattle, Wash.
Oct. 12 (Sun.) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated San Francisco 49ers 30-19 in Tampa, Fla.
Oct. 20 (Mon.) — Detroit Lions defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-9 in Detroit, Mich.
Oct. 26 (Sun.) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated New Orleans Saints 23-3 in New Orleans, La.
Nov. 2 (Sun.) — Bye week.
Nov. 9 (Sun.) — New England Patriots defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28-23 in Tampa, Fla.
Nov. 16 (Sun.) — Buffalo Bills defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers 44-32 in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Nov. 23 (Sun.) — Los Angeles Rams defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-7 in Inglewood, Calif.
What the Bucs have left
Nov. 30 (Sun.) — Arizona Cardinals at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. ET. TV: FOX.
Dec. 7 (Sun.) — New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. ET. TV: CBS.
Dec. 11 (Thurs.) — Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8:15 p.m. ET. TV: Prime Video
Dec. 21 (Sun.) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m. ET. TV: FOX
Dec. 28 (Sun.) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m. ET. TV: FOX
Jan. 3/4 (Flex) — Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Time TBA