Baker Mayfield didn’t face a ton of pressure last year, though he was sacked 40 times (10th-most in the NFL). But when Mayfield did face pressure, he did a really solid if not strong job of avoiding disaster.
Mayfield, per Steve Patton of @PattonAnalytics, had just six incompletions and zero sacks when avoiding sacks. Mayfield avoided a total of 28 sacks, per Patton, which was third-most in the NFL.
Joe doesn’t know what that says about the Bucs offensive line or the offense last year. The Bucs are believed to have one of the best pass-blocking front lines in the game.
Did Mayfield set himself up for sacks by holding onto the ball too long? This, too, doesn’t really add up because the Bucs offense was a dink-and-dunk offense (sorry Liam Coen) that was incredibly effective.
Hard to hold the ball for a long time when routes are short.
Joe isn’t sure what the reason was for the high-sack total and high number of times Mayfield had to avoid a rush.
Still, strong job by Mayfield of both avoiding sacks and getting production on the same plays.