Rachaad White Reveals Secret About Baker Mayfield Stiff-Arm Play On Nick Bosa
November 24th, 2024
Explains background of super play.
One could say running back Rachaad White gave the Bucs a chance to win two weeks ago against the 49ers.
You remember the play: Fourth down. Bucs’ final drive of regulation. Baker Mayfield is flushed out of the pocket by Nick Bosa. Mayfield runs right and Bosa is all over him like stink on Devin White.
Mayfield desperately stiff-arms Bosa and keeps running right. He’s not going to get away from Bosa so Mayfield somehow has to find a receiver and complete a pass or the game is over.
Mayfield throws down the right sideline and out of nowhere, White skies like Dwight Clark in triple coverage to come down with the ball. First down Bucs. Move the chains.
A lot, and Joe means a lot, of the attention was on how Mayfield held off Bosa just long enough to throw the ball toward White.
Tom Brady, who was calling the game for FOX, said it was one of the best moves by a quarterback he’s ever seen. And yes, Mayfield deserved all the accolades. But Joe thought White’s catch was way overlooked. It was a tremendous catch in heavy traffic.
So last week Joe finally got a chance to talk to White about that play. He gave Mayfield his props.
“It was a great play that Bake made,” White said. “Obviously holding off Bosa with one arm as he’s headed toward the sideline.
“It just goes to show our team [doesn’t bail]. He gave me the opportunity to make a play.”
The crazy thing is White skied high in the middle of triple coverage. And the great Fred Warner was about to light up White’s world and White knew it was coming.
“There were a lot of guys around,” White smiled.
But then White let Joe in on a secret. The pass White caught was not intended for him. Mayfield was trying to get the ball to Sterling Shepard who was just behind White, though White didn’t know it and didn’t see Shepard.
“He was right behind me,” White said. “I was just running around like scrambling, trying to give [Mayfield] a chance.
“I thought the ball was coming to me. But when we sat back and talked about it, I saw ‘Shep’ behind me. I went up to Shep and said, ‘I apologize.'”
Really, there was no need for White to apologize. The replay shows Shepard right behind White. Shepard broke for the pass but 49ers corner Deommodore Lenoir was with him.
Had White not been able to get a hand on the ball, it sure looks like Lenoir would have picked that pass. He was in perfect position.
“I was just trying to make a play, too,” White said. “We were just playing ball [at that moment]. That’s right. That’s how it is man. Like backyard football.”
And it was a good thing White has hops or the Bucs likely wouldn’t have had a chance to tie the game.
BAKER MAYFIELD WHAT?!
📺: #SFvsTB on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/Mlj7lDybXM— NFL (@NFL) November 10, 2024
November 24th, 2024 at 1:50 am
Another great late game win for Bucs two-franchise winning coich.
Oh, wait.
November 24th, 2024 at 4:55 am
I could watch Baker’s strong arm video 100 times! Perfect.
Thank you for this tidbit and good for Rachaad. Lucky for us and not for Lenoir. Love it, “Backyard football.”
November 24th, 2024 at 6:02 am
Very good catch by White.
Baker shows, once again, the type of plays that make him the most exciting QB to ever play for the Bucs.
As mentioned earlier run the thread, since Bowles is HC it is all for naught. 47% winning percentage. That is all you’re going to get. Along with a handful of apologists that want to rationalize and explain away why that is unfair. Who you going to believe, the apologists or your lying eyes.
November 24th, 2024 at 7:13 am
Great effort. It was indeed a bit lucky. I remember watching it and being so pumped for the team.
I expected Bosa to jerk Mayfields arm from its socket. But he foolishly wanted to get that splash vs finish the play. In his defense maybe he really didn’t have a solid grip.
November 24th, 2024 at 7:26 am
Good thing that pass wasn’t picked off we might have lost. The sad part of that drive was trying to eat clock instead of agressively going for the TD, but that’s coach go Turtle Todd for you. Let’s try for tie, and let our defense do the rest.
November 24th, 2024 at 7:45 am
I re-watched that Browns-Steelers game last night. I think after 10 years, Jameis is becoming a good QB. Kinda funny, OUR castoff killing it with THEM, THEIR castoff killing it with US
November 24th, 2024 at 7:52 am
IMO, White quietly goes about his business, is excellent at pass pro, and if the backup receivers can’t cut it and get open, White has proven he can make big plays.
November 24th, 2024 at 11:21 am
Too bad the Bucs didn’t win that game. Time to bring in a new head coach. Playing not to lose instead of playing to win gets you a loss way more often than a win.
November 24th, 2024 at 12:29 pm
Don’t know about a pick but there was 0 chance Shepard was coming down with that ball if White let it go. Hell of a play Rachaad, should have been a game winning play!
November 24th, 2024 at 12:42 pm
Beej,
Jameis threw another late game pick at the end, but he got lucky and got another cudgel at it because the Steelers went 3-and-out real quick. But Jameis did play pretty good overall n the game