Baker Mayfield gets real about controversial penalties that contributed to Bucs’ loss against Lions
Mayfield said as much as he could about one of the weirdest moments of the game.
Typically, the last thing one wants to do is blame the majority of an outcome on referees.
But damn, it’s hard to leave them out of the picture when it comes to analyzing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ loss to the Detroit Lions.
Players and coaches tend to stay away from criticizing refs because it can result in fines – I mean, hell, we literally saw Dre Greenlaw get suspended one game for essentially taunting a referee after the Denver Broncos beat the New York Giants
That wasn’t the case for Baker Mayfield after the Bucs’ loss, however, and he didn’t hold back when asked about the questionable calls.
Baker Mayfield clearly doesn’t like some key officiating decisions during Bucs’ loss to Lions
“[The] third down defensive holding call that wasn’t called and also, [I’m] still pretty damn confused about the double review,” Mayfield told reporters after the game. “A lot of things in that game that [are a] little questionable, but [there was] a lot of frustration at the end of that. It might be displaced onto John Hussey in the moment, but I work my ass off, and I put a lot into this game, so when things that I don’t seem are deemed fair, I’m going to let somebody know. And that’s good, bad, indifferent.”
Mayfield’s right. The “double review” situation was odd on its own, but what was even more troubling was that the refs gave the Lions their challenge back, even though they had challenged the wrong aspect of the play. The Lions challenged the catch, not the spot of the ball, and it was a clear catch. Yet, the refs still went back and overturned the first down and gave the Lions their challenge back.
It was a bizarre turn of events, and while it didn’t lead to any points for the Lions, it still bled much-needed time off the clock, which makes a difference.
It’s hard enough beating a team like the Lions in their house – the last thing an opposing teams need is refs making ridiculous calls against them. That unfortunately happened to the Bucs on Monday night, and it played a big role in the final outcome.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers News
Mike Evans’ tough 2025 season gets even tougher after he suffers another bad injury
The Bucs just can’t stay healthy in 2025.
