Baker Mayfield made a huge mistake late in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Wild Card matchup against the Washington Commanders.
The Buccaneers held a 17-13 lead over the Commanders midway through the fourth quarter at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The Bucs’ defense had just forced a critical turnover on downs to get the ball deep in their own territory.
Facing 1st-and-10 at their 15, Mayfield botched what appeared to be a simple handoff to wide receiver Jalen McMillan. The ball ended up on the grass, and Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner was the first one to jump on it.
CHAOS! Baker loses the ball and it's @Commanders ball in the red zone 👀
📺: #WASvsTB on NBC
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/0Oq5lmBhsF— NFL (@NFL) January 13, 2025
Here’s another angle of the botched play.
🤦🏼♂️ Baker Mayfield fumbles the snap and the Washington Commanders recover. pic.twitter.com/kRaIeNGy2x
— Ghost Warrior (@ghost_warrior34) January 13, 2025
The play could have also called for Mayfield to fake the handoff and run the ball himself. But regardless of intention, Mayfield mishandled the ball all the same.
Mayfield was seen taking ownership of the mistake on the sidelines.
Baker Mayfield admitting he made that fumble mistake https://t.co/NXuXDG6lMC pic.twitter.com/18p1a8Qfst
— The Whole Delivery (@TWDTV1) January 13, 2025
Wagner was on the wrong end a of Baker Mayfield highlight run earlier in the game. His fumble recovery more than made up for it.
