Today should’ve been a day where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers solidified their top spot in the NFC South and reinforced their playoff chances. Instead, they fell to the Atlanta Falcons and now sit on a 7-7 record. Quarterback Baker Mayfield knew where to pin the blame, and he pointed fingers at himself.

“This one is gonna haunt me. It falls on my shoulders,” Mayfield said.

He hit Devin Culp and Chris Godwin Jr. for touchdowns and finished with 277 yards on 19-of-34 passing, with one interception. On paper, it’s a serviceable line. Context makes it feel worse. Earlier in the season, this was a quarterback carrying MVP buzz. Now he looks like someone pressing, trying to drag an offense that’s lost its early rhythm.

The mistake that defined the night came in the fourth quarter, deep in Falcons territory. Mayfield forced a throw that cornerback Tre Flowers jumped, killing a drive right as Tampa Bay had a chance to answer Atlanta’s surge. A few minutes earlier, Bijan Robinson had cut the deficit to 28–20, and the failed two-point attempt loomed over everything that followed.

Mayfield has tough questions coming his way. He’s under contract through 2026, and right now, the version we’re seeing doesn’t match the $45-million-plus expectations that come with it. If he wants to justify that investment, the stage he needs to shine on is primetime. But so far in Tampa, the lights haven’t been kind—he’s 1–9 in primetime games as a Buccaneer.

Still, it wasn’t all on him. As hard as Mayfield was on himself, Todd Bowles was even harsher on the room. And he made sure his players heard it.

Todd Bowles’ message to the locker room

For long stretches, the Bucs looked flat. There was very little urgency for a team playing for control of the division. It felt like a group going through the motions, and Todd Bowles didn’t hide his frustration. His message to the locker room was blunt and unmistakable.

“You gotta fuc—- care enough, where this sh– hurts. You gotta fuc—- care enough where this sh– hurts,” the head coach said.

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“It’s gotta fuc—- mean something. It’s more than a job, it’s your fun—- livelihood. How well do you know your job? How well can you do your job? You can’t sugarcoat that sh–. It was in-fuc—-excusable. There was no fuc—- answer for it. There’s no excuse for it. That’s what you tell them in the locker room. Look in the fuc—- mirror,” Bowles added.

Tampa Bay handed this game back to Atlanta despite the Falcons doing everything possible to return the favor. Nineteen penalties, a third-and-28, a fourth-and-18. Atlanta walked into trap after trap and still escaped because the Bucs were even more disjointed. No coach can stomach that.

This season opened with real promise. They started 5–1 despite dealing with injuries, and they looked capable of making a real run in 2025. Baker Mayfield was playing at an MVP level early, and the roster felt resilient. Somewhere along the way, the edges started to fray, and the issues have only grown harder to diagnose.

With the loss to Atlanta, Tampa Bay’s playoff chances drop to 53 percent, per The Athletic’s simulator. A loss next week to Carolina sends that number down to 47 percent. A win, however, pushes it to 91 percent. Everything now hinges on next week. Bowles and Baker Mayfield have to steady the ship right now.