Anytime Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield makes a play, the pendulum will swing in each direction of whether or not he was worth the three-year contract extension for $165 million. Unfortunately, when one fumbles three times in a game like Mayfield did in Tampa Bay’s season opener, the nay sayers get louder and louder.

Finding out if it was the right call to keep Baker Mayfield won’t be determined until the end of the season. What needs to be understood in the present is that Mayfield’s turnovers need to be eliminated immediately. The roller coaster style of play with Mayfield is endearing. He makes the types of plays that nobody else can to help the Bucs win games. But when it rears its ugly head in the wrong direction, you get a game like last Sunday.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Baker Mayfield has fumbled 35 times since coming to Tampa Bay. In 2024, he was tied for the NFL lead in interceptions. When the Bucs are a top five offense in the league, it can be forgiven and looked over. But a performance like Sunday and it gets magnified.

The worst of the three fumbles were when Mayfield fumbled near the goal line after scrambling for a first down. It would’ve given the Bucs a first and goal inside the five-yard line. Is it reckless? Is it doing too much? Mayfield would pinpoint it as just bad fundamentals.

Baker Mayfield Explains Fumbling Issues

“I think it’s tricky. It truly came down to fundamentals at that point near the goal line, of [my] wrist being below the elbow,” Mayfield said. “I had it, and I was trying to get the offhand to cover it up, but it was too low. When the guy gets an arm in there, it pops out. So, it truly comes back to the fundamentals. I don’t think it had anything to do with the risk of running.

“That was a decision – they dropped into coverage [and] covered the scheme well. For me in the red zone, legs have to come alive – the scramble drill has to be a thing down there. But yeah, at that point, I don’t have to score. I had the first-down yardage. Now [I’ve got to] make sure I have the ball and get down or get in the end zone.”

Despite four turnovers by the Bucs offense, they still managed to score 20 points in their opener and moved the ball down the field relatively well. That’s why nobody is panicking going into a Week 2 game against the Browns where the Bucs are heavy favorites.

What Baker Mayfield Likes About Bucs’ Offense

“We were efficient in the early-down stuff,” Baker Mayfield said. “Obviously, we were 50% on third downs. A lot of those were pretty manageable third downs, but [we] really executed well. So, I think the run game [on] early downs was good. Obviously, we got behind in the score [and] we had to throw a little bit more than we wanted to. But the guys up front, I think running-wise, [were] great, and [we had] efficiency in the early-down pass game – guys getting to the right spots and being able to distribute that.”

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Tampa Bay just saw its former offensive coordinator now turned Jaguars head coach Liam Coen drop 34 points in Jacksonville against Cleveland. There will surely be similarities with what play caller Zac Robinson wants to run for the Bucs coming up on Sunday.

“Yeah, I mean, the fumbles are something I can get fixed. If it was something that wasn’t fixable, I’d probably be in a different spot. It’s something that I can personally get fixed [and] not put our team in that spot. It’s also Week 1, it’s game 1. Like I always say, football teaches you life lessons. It’s how you handle adversity, how you get better, how you move forward…You can’t dwell on it because we still have 16 games to go. So, for me, [it’s about] focusing on that, harping on the details, ball security and going forward.”