Without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, the Bucs have had to manufacture yards and touchdowns on offense. Tampa Bay’s ground game has been much improved, but with a lack of receiver firepower, offensive coordinator Liam Coen has been trying to develop a passing game largely through tight end Cade Otton as well as his running backs Rachaad White and Bucky Irving.

To a certain extent, it has worked up until this point. The Bucs put up 24 points against both Baltimore and Kansas City.

Bucs OC Liam Coen and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

And there is a good chance Tampa Bay could have had similar results against San Fransisco, but the Bucs offense came up a little short with just 20 points in a 23-20 loss at home that had the team fall to 4-6 on the season.

Could Tampa Bay have put up more points? The answer is yes.

There were some key drops from receiving options. Both Cade Otton and Rakim Jarrett dropped passes they should have caught in this game. Those drops occurred on back-to-back plays at the end of the first half when the Bucs had a good chance to steal some points with favorable field position.

But this new BUCS ALL-22 BREAKDOWN video will detail the hidden yardage that did not come to pass due to quarterback play on Sunday.

Baker Mayfield Turned Down Too Many Easy Throws

Baker Mayfield is a good quarterback who can lead a winning team. He has been a big reason for most of the team’s wins this year. He is a Top 10-15 quarterback in the NFL and has had flashes of brilliance at times in the last two years. He has also played a major role in a few of the Bucs’ losses this year.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

All of these things can be true. In this past game he did not have any turnover-worthy plays and was not one of the larger reasons the team lost. The main culprits for the outcome of the game all rested on the Bucs defense.

But that is not to say that Mayfield could not have put the team in a better position to win.

That’s what great quarterbacks do. Play within the rhythm of the offense until circumstances force them to do something revelatory. Mayfield had the revelatory play when he fended off Nick Bosa for several seconds late in the fourth quarter as he scrambled to the sideline and threw up an unlikely completion to Rachaad White.

But the rhythm of the offense plays still elude Mayfield from time to time.

In this game there are two examples of easy throws that he should have made but he passed up. The first came on a familiar play that we have detailed here at Pewter Report before.

2/7

SF sits on the choice but that springs Miller open on the out. Easy play for a 1st down and possibly an explosive after the catch. Turns it down for a backside dig. Still gets the first but why turn down the easy play? pic.twitter.com/LT6C7ltdPV

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) November 11, 2024

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

In the play above the progression Mayfield should go through would have Ryan Miller as the second read. Cade Otton is read four.

Mayfield should have seen the three defenders sitting on Sterling Shepard and simply thrown over them to a wide-open Ryan Miller for an easy first down and possibly more after the catch. Yes, the result was still a 15-yard completion and a first down, but he had no way of knowing Otton was going to be open and there is no reason to turn down that sure thing for an unknown quantity.

Later in the game, Mayfield would pass up an easy flat to an open Otton on third-and-four for another backside look that didn’t come open. After a scramble Mayfield would throw incomplete to Otton on a busted play to end a drive.

Bucs QB Turning Down Explosives

Baker Mayfield would not only turn down easy throws against the 49ers, but potential shot plays as well.

3/7

Later in the first half Baker does a great job of manipulating the C2 flat corner and gets the look exactly as the design would want it. 88 open on the fade with the safeties back to him chasing the seam. Thjs is the big shot explosive! Turns it down for the flat. pic.twitter.com/VUpWMyOhss

— Joshua Queipo (@josh_queipo) November 11, 2024

On this play Mayfield does all the hard work of manipulating the cornerback into biting on the flat option. All he has to do is take the payoff! But he checks down to Irving instead of putting the ball deep for Otton running open on the fade route with the safety’s back to him.

Yes, this play goes down as “successful” for netting five yards on second-and-8, but it could have been a shot play into San Fransisco territory. For a Bucs offense lacking passing explosives they cannot afford to turn down open shots like this.

Mayfield’s hesitation would hurt another explosive opportunity on a deep over off of play action to Trey Palmer.

Inaccuracy Keeping Bucs From Staying On Schedule

Bucs WR Ryan Miller – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Add in the drops I mentioned earlier along with some bad balls by Baker Mayfield, including throwing behind Cade Otton on a simple bench route, too far in front of Sterling Shepard on a speed cut, and just overthrowing Shepard fully on a corner route, and the offense is giving away plays they cannot afford to give up with a defense that is as leaky as pipe in an 80-year-old condemned building.

Mayfield finished the day 18-of-29 for just 116 yards and a touchdown. But if he had capitalized on some of this hidden yardage those numbers would have looked a lot better. And the result of the game may have gone in the Bucs’ favor.

You can catch the full breakdown of the hidden yardage the Bucs missed in Pewter Report’s latest all-22 breakdown on our YouTube Channel, PewterReport TV, here.