Baker Mayfield sat on the bench late in the fourth quarter, hoping his team would have another chance to extend their season.
The quarterback’s fourth-quarter fumble led to a touchdown that gave the Commanders a short-lived lead.
The Buccaneers could only muster a field goal to tie the game after that. That set the stage for the Commanders to have the final possession of regulation.
Zane Gonzalez’s third field goal, a 37-yarder, doinked off the right upright as time expired, and gave Washington a 23-20 victory in the wild-card round Sunday night.
It left Baker Mayfield and others pondering what might have happened if not for that costly fumble.
The agony of defeat for Mayfield likely felt a bit harsher as that one moment likely changed the entire outcome of the game.
“That comes back to me, just timing it up correctly,” Mayfield said. “First one all year that it happened on. So obviously the timing of it not great, being backed up. Defense had done a hell of a job getting us the ball, another fourth-down stop and yeah, unfortunate, but that falls on me.”
The veteran also spoke glowingly about his team before circling back to his own mistakes on Sunday night.
Baker Mayfield took the blame for the fumble today and didn’t mince words when he said that it “absolutely sucks”. But then you’ll hear him talk about how proud he is of this team and the way guys stepped up. I asked if he thought he could show that kindness to himself… pic.twitter.com/eRCsFjnMXV
“It’s never just about one person,” Mayfield said. “That’s what this team embodied. That’s the most important part. That’s the thing they can be proud of, is that we grew together. Guys helped each other out and stepped up. But it’s never about one person. And unfortunately, I made a few mistakes to hurt the team today.”
As Mayfield reflected on the loss to the Commanders and the 2024 season as a whole, he admitted he would have a hard time as the season comes to an end.
Baker Mayfield took the blame for the fumble today and didn’t mince words when he said that it “absolutely sucks”. But then you’ll hear him talk about how proud he is of this team and the way guys stepped up. I asked if he thought he could show that kindness to himself… pic.twitter.com/eRCsFjnMXV
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) January 13, 2025
“Probably not. Just some dumb stuff today that cost the team,” Mayfield added. “So, that’s gonna wear on me for a while.”
Also Read: Why Has Baker Mayfield Filed A Lawsuit Against His Father And Brother? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Issued A $12M Legal Case Involving His Family
For the Buccaneers, Baker Mayfield and the rest of the team endured another heartbreaking loss to close their season.
Mayfield finished 15-of-18 for 185 yards and two touchdowns against the Bucs but had a costly lost fumble.
The Buccaneers made too many errors, and now they head to the offseason thinking about a few things they could’ve done differently.
