TAMPA, Fla. -- Through Week 8 of the NFL season, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield leads the NFL in the most appealing and unappealing categories. The Buccaneers signal-caller boasts a league-high 21 touchdowns while tying Jordan Love and Patrick Mahomes for nine interceptions, the most in the NFL.
Mayfield is on pace for the best season of his career. Along with 21 touchdowns, Mayfield ranks second behind Seattle quarterback Geno Smith in passing yards (2,189) and completions (202).
Ball security was a non-existent issue for the Buccaneers through Week 5, as Mayfield’s 11 touchdowns heavily outweighed his two interceptions. The quarterback’s production took a turn in week six, as an impressive ten touchdowns came with seven interceptions. While the Buccaneers were able to climb back from three interceptions against the Saints, the same couldn’t be said after two interception outings against the Ravens and Falcons.
“It pisses me off,” Mayfield said. “I don’t want to turn the ball over. To me, that’s shooting our whole team in the foot. That’s not what I want to do, so yeah, it makes me angry. Obviously, that’s something I can directly fix and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Head coach Todd Bowles doesn’t solely blame Mayfield for the increase in turnovers.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” Bowles said. “Sometimes it’s the routes, sometimes he’s forcing it, sometimes it’s the line, sometimes it’s the end of the game and you’ve got to throw it. We can’t turn it over, especially on the plus side of the field.”
Limiting turnovers will be key for the Bucs on Monday as they square off against the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
