Minnesota sacked Baker Mayfield six times and hit him 12 times in week 3. The Vikings consistently collapsed the pocket, forcing Mayfield to operate under pressure. For an offensive line that was expected to be one of Tampa Bay’s strengths, Sunday was a massive disappointment. Penalties ruined every bit of momentum they tried to build on. The Bucs finished with eight accepted penalties for 81 yards, including five offensive holding penalties. Cody Mauch and Graham Barton were both called for holding on consecutive plays during one promising drive. Payne Durham later erased a Mayfield scramble with another hold. Then, facing third and 29 in the third quarter, Mayfield found Chris Godwin Jr. for what should have been an incredible 85-yard touchdown.
Instead, Luke Goedeke was called for holding, and the entire play disappeared. Tampa Bay eventually punted on fourth and 30.
Still, the offensive line cannot take all of the blame. Mayfield has built his reputation around extending plays and refusing to give up when things break down. That aggressiveness has produced some incredible moments during his time in Tampa Bay, but against Minnesota it became part of the problem. There were several occasions where Mayfield appeared too quick to abandon the pocket, while on other plays he held onto the football trying to create something instead of accepting that the play was over. Against Brian Flores and an aggressive Vikings defense, those extra seconds became insanely dangerous. Mayfield completed just 17 of 34 passes for 217 yards, one touchdown, and one interception; Tampa Bay also finished an awful 2-for-17 on third down. There were missed throws as well; the timing between Mayfield and his receivers did not consistently look right, particularly with Emeka Egbuka, and opportunities were left on the field throughout the afternoon.
The final blow came with the Buccaneers trailing 20 to 16 and facing fourth-and-13 late in the fourth quarter; Mayfield was flushed from the pocket. Instead of giving up on the play, he kept retreating while searching for somewhere to throw the football. He eventually launched a desperation pass that was intercepted, but the bigger loss came when his throwing hand made contact with Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman. Mayfield dislocated his right thumb on the play, and while he did not suffer any structural damage, he will miss a minimum of three weeks. There is plenty of blame to go around. The offensive line has to be significantly better. Five holding penalties are unacceptable, and allowing your quarterback to take six sacks and 12 hits is not sustainable. But Mayfield has to be better too. His ability to create outside of structure is part of what makes him dangerous, but there has to be a balance between extending a play and knowing when it's finished.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Bucs offense line, Bakers' hero ball, dooms offense
