All around, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield has played better than ever before this season.

Take one glance at the statistics he has piled up, and they more than back that claim. After having a career year during his first year in Tampa Bay, he joined some elite company with what he has done as an encore.

While there is no denying Mayfield’s success throughout the season, what has he done differently to put himself in a position to make big plays, put up big numbers, and lead the Bucs to big wins to make the playoffs?

It starts with his drastic improvement in reading blitzes and getting the ball off efficiently.

Comparing Baker Mayfield’s Career Numbers Against The Blitz To 2024

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Baker Mayfield has evolved as a starting quarterback since being drafted by the Browns first overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. A growing trend around the league is that signal-callers take time to develop before blossoming in their late 20s (Sam Darnold) or even early 30s (Geno Smith).

Mayfield is no different, having started to turn a corner after signing with the Bucs. In a stable environment, he has played his kind of football and the team has embodied his fearless personality that ignites everyone he plays alongside. Look no further at his fearlessness when staring down into a defender rushing at him to see just how much he has grown.

Here is a year-by-year breakdown of his numbers against the blitz across each of his seven seasons, per Pro Football Focus (PFF):

2018 With The Browns:

• 205 – or 38.6% of his dropbacks
• 60.6% completion percentage
• PFF grades: Offense 62.7 Passing 61.2 Rushing 70.7
• 12 passing touchdowns and seven interceptions

2019 With The Browns:

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

• 243 – or 41.0% of dropbacks
• 62.0% completion percentage
• PFF Grades: Offense 75.5 Passing 74.7 Rushing 53.1
• 11 passing touchdowns and seven interceptions

2020 With The Browns:

• 206 – or 38.3% of dropbacks
• 63.6% completion percentage
• PFF grades: Offense 77.3 Passing 75.6 Rushing 57.3
• Eight passing touchdowns and four interceptions

2021 With The Browns:

• 138 – or 28.4% of dropbacks
• 59.0 % completion percentage
• PFF grades: Offense 53.9 Passing 53.3 Rush 66.3
• Four passing touchdowns and four interceptions

2022 With The Panthers:

• 82 – or 34.7% of dropbacks
• 49.3% completion percentage
• PFF Grades: Offense 56.9 Passing 58.0 Rush 50.2 
• One passing touchdown and one interception

2022 With The Rams:

Rams QB Baker Mayfield and OC Liam Coen – Photo by: USA Today

• 52 – or 34.0% of dropbacks
• 76.2% completion percentage
• PFF Grades: Offense 56.9 Passing 58.0 Rush 50.2
• Two passing touchdowns and zero interceptions

2023 With The Bucs:

• 154 – 24.1% of dropbacks
• 60.6% completion percentage
• PFF Grades: Offense 75.4 Passing 74.4 Rush 56.2
• Eight passing touchdowns and zero interceptions

2024 With The Bucs:

• 220 – or 33.5% of dropbacks
• 73.3% completion percentage
• PFF Grades: Offense 80.0 Passing 75.5 Rush 85.9
• 17 passing touchdowns and four interceptions

Throughout Mayfield’s tenure with Cleveland, he was less efficient and more prone to turnovers when blitzed on his drop-backs. He reached a low point in his career during his last season there in 2021 and in the first half of 2022 with the Panthers, and a strong correlation was how he fared when opposing defenses sent the house at him.

After a brief cup of coffee with the Rams to finish the 2022 season, one can note that Mayfield started to turn the corner with defenders rushing at him. Playing under offensive coordinator and current Panthers head coach Dave Canales last season with the Bucs, Mayfield did not throw a single interception against the blitz, which is quite remarkable.

Then he took off when reunited with offensive coordinator Liam Coen this season.

Baker Mayfield Has Turned A Corner Against The Blitz Under Liam Coen

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Liam Coen has coaxed the best play out of Baker Mayfield by game-planning a lot of quick game – short passes with a high chance of success. In turn, Mayfield has been in rhythm, with nearly a 7% increase in his overall completion percentage and nearly a 10% jump against the blitz across a full season.

There is still a level of gunslinger in Mayfield’s game, but he has learned to be more disciplined and recognize the times he needs to get the ball out quickly and when he can extend plays and find his offensive weapons deeper down the field.

On Thursday, Coen took the time to discuss what has led to his quarterback’s success when under duress.

“I think maybe just some of the understanding of the protection schemes a little bit better for him, and having a great understanding of everything that’s going on around him,” Coen said. “Knowing, maybe, where his quick element throws are, where we can just spot up completions, versus maybe fire zones, or, okay, we’re talking about man pressure, man dog, as you saw versus [Cover-]Zero blitz the other day…

“When we were driving down, he hit Mike Evans on a quick slant from the slot – that was versus a [Cover-]Zero blitz. He did a great job of getting the ball out and beating the blitz. He plays fast most of the time. When that ball is coming out and he’s spitting and dealing, that naturally happens a lot of times. Especially versus blitz, that ball can come out fast. That’s obviously been a recipe for success for us in general this year.”

Pewter Report’s film guru Josh Queipo found the play Coen was referring to. Although the drive ended in a field goal, it illustrates how Mayfield aptly reads the zero blitz and fires a laser to wide receiver Mike Evans across the middle of the field.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Head coach Todd Bowles also shared an assessment when looking at his success and what makes him dangerous against the blitz.

“He’s mobile in the pocket and he can see things,” Bowles said Friday. “He’s very quick with his thought process – hopefully that continues this game. They have a variety of blitzes they’re going to bring for him, we understand that as well. He’s sharp. He’s seen them all at this point in his career so he understands where he needs to go and he’ll get us in the right play.”

You can never fully take the gunslinger play-style out of Baker Mayfield, and you should not because that is when he makes some of his best plays and is his most comfortable. Setting those chances up in an efficient way is predicated on distributing the ball – even when defenses load up the box and dial up blitzes.

That is where he has made arguably the most improvement this season. Having 17 passing touchdowns this season when faced with incoming defenders speaks to his coolness and trust in Liam Coen’s play-calling, the offensive line buying him just enough time, and his wide receivers creating enough separation to hit them in stride.

Numbers do not lie – and they paint quite the picture here.