Baker Mayfield gets real about scary injury moment after Bucs' huge overtime win vs Panthers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6) have been racked by injuries this year and that didn't stop in Week 13 against the Carolina Panthers (3-9).Not only did the Bucs lose two important defensive players in K.J. Britt and Mike Edwards and see top rookie Bucky Irving get dinged up, they witnessed a very scary moment when […]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6) have been racked by injuries this year and that didn't stop in Week 13 against the Carolina Panthers (3-9).
Not only did the Bucs lose two important defensive players in K.J. Britt and Mike Edwards and see top rookie Bucky Irving get dinged up, they witnessed a very scary moment when star quarterback Baker Mayfield went down after getting stepped on by Panthers defensive lineman Jadaveon Clowney during a sack.
It looked really bad and was serious enough to where backup quarterback Kyle Trask had to come into the game for two plays. Things ended up turning in the Bucs' favor, though, and Mayfield came away a bit shaken, but unscathed.
"Honestly, it scared the daylights out of me," Mayfield told reporters after the game. "[I've seen] some people pop their Achilles before, and they say it feels like you get cleated on the back. Obviously, not knowing what exactly happened, that's what I thought it did. It was a little painful, [I] got taped up again and got back out there…
"They just told me.. I got cleated on the Achilles or stepped on."
"We'll see how he feels this week. I'm pretty sure he's going to be sore, but he's a tough guy," Bucs head coach Todd Bowles told reporters after the game. "If he can come back and play, he's gonna come back in and play… 'Bake' played a heck of a game [and] he played a gritty game when he came back in."
Mayfield's toughness was on full display throughout the game, but the ultimate moment came when the Bucs were down three points with :19 left to go. Mayfield's 10-yard scramble on 2nd and 10 was a pivotal play that had to be made and the veteran quarterback did an excellent job of identifying -and taking advantage of- an open rush lane that got the offense across the 50-yard line. He also got out of bounds with :11 left, which obviously saved a huge chunk of time and helped make a feasible field goal attempt possible. That came on a night where the Panthers defense did a really good job of preventing Mayfield from doing damage with his legs.
"They did a great job in the rush lanes [by] containing and then just not being able to step up and go through [my reads]," said Mayfiled. "There was probably a few, definitely early on, there was one that I threw to Trey Palmer. [I was] stepping up in the pocket, [it] was behind him. He was going towards our sideline. I could have probably ran for the first on a third and long. But other than that, yeah, they did a good job in the rush lanes."
In all, it was a tough, gritty win for the Bucs. But their reward is a 6-6 record, along with a legit shot at a fourth-straight NFC South title. As long as they can continue to endure (as well as start limiting the dumb mistakes) over the last five games of the regular season, of course.
