Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield made one particular mistake during Monday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens that really aggravated Peyton Manning.
The Bucs were trailing 10-7 and had 2nd-and-goal midway through the second quarter of their 41-31 loss to the Ravens at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Mayfield dropped back to pass and had a clean pocket, but he could not find an open receiver. Manning, who was watching with brother Eli and Bill Belichick on ‘ManningCast,’ began urging Mayfield to “throw it away” after about four seconds.
Instead, Mayfield tried to force a pass to Jalen McMillan in the back of the end zone. Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey made an easy interception.
Manning was aggravated with both the decision and a the playcall.
“Why are we throwing?” Peyton asked. “They’re playing Cover 4. You got six yards on the run play before. They’re dropping all these defenders and building a picket fence. … Run the ball!”
"Throw it away. Throw it away. Throw it away." – Peyton Manning, right before Baker Mayfield throws it to the other team in the end zone
"Oh no, Baker!" – Eli Manning #ManningCast #MNF #NFL pic.twitter.com/BWR4j3VPPD
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 22, 2024
To the untrained eye, it looked like Mayfield still had more time to find an open receiver. Being the Hall of Fame quarterback that he is, Manning knew Mayfield had nothing and should have just given up on the play.
The mistake was costly. At the very least, the Buccaneers should have come away with a field goal on that drive to take a 13-7 lead. Instead, the interception led to a huge momentum shift, and Baltimore scored 10 unanswered points before the half.
