Baker Mayfield Is Miserable On Opening Days
May 12th, 2023
Brutal Week 1 data.
The Bucs desperately need a win on opening day in Minnesota to help lock down a solid start to the 2023 season before their too-early Week 5 bye. History says Baker Mayfield has little chance of leading Tampa Bay to victory.
Mayfield sucks on opening days. That’s Joe being nice. In fact, Mayfield is 0-4 as a Week 1 starter with a total of 3 touchdown passes and 6 interceptions.
And the sour cherry on top is eating 13 sacks while coughing up 4 fumbles in those games. Ouch!
Joe was stunned seeing Mayfield’s opening day history, which includes being on the wrong end of two blowout losses.
Joe believes in Week 1 trends for quarterbacks. Drew Brees was a slow starter, especially at home, and journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick had a strong opening-day record. That’s why Joe confidently picked the Bucs to upset the Saints in Week 1 of 2018 in New Orleans.
Todd Bowles and new offensive coordinator Dave Canales, assuming they roll with Mayfield this season, need to do an immediate deep dive into why Mayfield struggles to start seasons.
Team Glazer should make it clear they will pay to hire a SWAT team of sports psychologists, if necessary, to figure out why Mayfield is flat when the lights first go on.
May 12th, 2023 at 7:58 am
Baker is a version of Winston and Freeman, with less upside than both of them. He was average during his best season and people get excited based on his very talented team’s win-loss record. He’s got some bravado that makes some fans conflate his charisma with good QB play.
May 12th, 2023 at 8:00 am
Well maybe Trask will wind up the starting QB anyway. Don’t write him off just because he hasn’t shown anything yet. He might surprise in a positive way and make Mayfield’s opening day struggles a moot sibject.
May 12th, 2023 at 8:06 am
Minnesota ready.
May 12th, 2023 at 8:16 am
Seriously let’s see if he wins the starting Job a 1yr contract is a straight up tryout not a declaration you are our starter so slow your roll Joe.
May 12th, 2023 at 8:18 am
This is just not true. Mayfield led a comeback even with the Panthers last season against Cleveland but their defense folded. Play nice, please. Joe’s information is accurate.–Joe
Cleveland hadn’t won a game 1 with or without Mayfield in many many years.
Of all the negative things to attribute to Mayfield, this is not it.
May 12th, 2023 at 8:22 am
It’s a team sport….13 sacks ….O-line still on the bus???
May 12th, 2023 at 8:24 am
Just opening day lol, you could have fooled me I thought it was all season long!
May 12th, 2023 at 8:39 am
Whoa
That is a depressing bit of news.
Tom, please come home…
May 12th, 2023 at 8:52 am
Last year opening day, Baker led Panthers back from 4th quarter 20-7 deficit to take the lead with a little over a minute left- but Panthers’ D couldn’t hold and Browns kicked a 58 yd fg at end for the win.
If Panthers win that game, do Bucs make playoffs last year?
May 12th, 2023 at 8:53 am
This sounds exactly like Winston. One more reason to be wary of the guy who is essentially the next JW.
May 12th, 2023 at 8:56 am
I guess I’m just a “glass half full” kinda fan. I just have a gut feeling that Mayfield is going to a fantastic QB here. I love the parts around him and am getting excited by the parts directly in front of him…the O line is intriguing.
May 12th, 2023 at 8:58 am
How many different offensive coordinators did he have over that span? Ruhle….who was incompetent. I believe he had Monken at one point…Haley who was one and done. Van Pelt…was another. Reminds of all the turnover Alex Smith had early in his career. Everyone was certain he was a bust, he ended up being an exceptional game manager and consistent winner once he had some stability in a system.
May 12th, 2023 at 9:03 am
@Joe – Play nice? This article calls Mayfield “miserable” on opening day. Is disputing falsehoods not playing nice?…look at the defensive performances of every opening day Mayfield has played in, specifically the second half defensive performances.
Mayfield led a comeback in ’22 against his former team, and Panther’s defense let Brisset-in his first game as a starter for CLE-drive down the entire length of field and blow the comeback victory by Mayfield.
In ’21, pre-injury Mayfield played stellar against the Chiefs almost beating them 29-33, but again a defensive half.
In ’20, new first-tie coach, new system and Covid protocol. The defense gave up 38. Mayfield did not play great that game, sure, but no one on CLE had a good game.
In ’19, new (non-interim) coach, new system and that coach was Freddie Kitchens and the defense gave up 43!
May 12th, 2023 at 9:11 am
That probably means this time he is going to be pretty dam good. I like the law of averages, he’s due.
May 12th, 2023 at 9:14 am
Alpha, Joe is coming at us with facts, but obviously there’s more to the story. If he’s being sacked that much, they’re obviously offensive line issues. And of course this is a team game. No quarterback wins or loses a game by himself. So I can see both sides of it. Hopefully the new OC recognizes these early game weaknesses and can construct an offensive game plan that does its best to mitigate them. We shall see.
May 12th, 2023 at 9:26 am
Hey Steven007 “No quarterback wins or loses a game by himself”
Do a few pick-sixes that end the game not count? Asking for an AZ Hasseles friend, currently in Nawlins… Could you “check your sheet”?
May 12th, 2023 at 9:30 am
Rhino, listen, I never said the QB couldn’t have a huge role! Trust me, I’ve been in stadium while viewing the former guy throwing those despicable pick sixes. But in theory I stand by my statement. Had we as a team not been in a position to lose a game by having the other team score, we wouldn’t have lost. I’m sure you understand. But trust me, I get your point. And I assume you get mine.
May 12th, 2023 at 10:07 am
Bowels better have nothing to do with that. He needs to figure out how to keep the Viqueens from dropping a 40 burger on him.
May 12th, 2023 at 10:19 am
Wait till you see Todd Bowles’s career record
May 12th, 2023 at 10:39 am
Well, put it on the Defense and RBs.
May 12th, 2023 at 10:41 am
Alpha is definitely on the right track, but let me take this train down the track a little farther…
I have personally watched EVERY Baker Mayfield game since he entered the NFL, as I became fascinated with him after he had the cojones to plant the Oklahoma flag at midfield after beating the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio! Baker Mayfield is a winner…period…and if he ever gets in the right system, he will flourish as an NFL quarterback.
Let’s keep in mind that he took over a winless Cleveland franchise and led them to their first playoff victory in 25+ years. I can say without a doubt, that when Baker had a healthy offensive line, he performed quite admirable during his tenure with the Browns, but the O-Line always had someone down and that caused a lot of problems for the offense as a whole. Further, in retrospect, I am sure that Baker wishes he had shut himself down after the labrum injury because although he is too much of a competitor to hide behind excuses, it DEFINITELY affected his throwing motion for the entire year.
As for his Panthers experience, that was simply an exercise in futility as Matt Rhule never had a grasp of what was required to win in the NFL.
If you want to know the real Baker Mayfield, then marvel at his performance with the Rams after 2 DAYS PREP with the team against the Raiders on that Monday night game when he led the 4th quarter comeback with a bunch of non-starters!! And then watch the postgame celebration when McVay hands Baker the gameball and he celebrates with his new teammates,,,not even knowing most of them!
Tampa Bay is fortunate to get this guy at bargain basement rates, and if Bowles and Canales provide the right system , the O-Line stays healthy and the defense is above average, then watch out world…the Bucs are gonna surprise some people!
May 12th, 2023 at 11:21 am
Like I’ve said all along. Trask will get his shot sooner than he thinks. Baker has a tendency to hum along just fine for a while and then..Bam..he starts with those repeated interceptions. Just be ready Trask.
May 12th, 2023 at 11:52 am
If we split with The Colts and Cards we can win 1. Minny will kill us.
May 12th, 2023 at 11:58 am
This narrative that 2-2 matters or the Bucs have any must win games before Halloween is silly, Joe. Every game counts 1/17th.
May 12th, 2023 at 12:17 pm
Oh well – he has a season in which he went for 26/8. I’d like to kindly remind people that Geno Smith was twice the disaster Baker was, and look what Geno did with Canales. Baker is physically more gifted than Geno and especially more gifted than no personality, slow footed Trask. Baker is the guy, whether Bucs and Gator fans like it or not and it will be a win win. Bucs tank – then its a great QB class next yr. Baker matches his potential, than even better
May 12th, 2023 at 12:38 pm
Start Trask in the opener and then bring Mayfield in to start game two. Problem solved…you’re welcome!
May 12th, 2023 at 1:23 pm
Easy solution, as others said, just start Trask in week 1.
May 12th, 2023 at 3:55 pm
I gotta wonder what the opening day record was for the other QBs that had a new offensive system to learn every single year in the league. I’m not holding out a ton of hope because once again, whole new coach, whole new offensive system.
May 12th, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Meanwhile, I hear Kyle Trask is actually undefeated in opening day NFL games…
May 15th, 2023 at 4:31 pm
Typical Joe hating Trask and write him off assuming Baker will be the first day qb. LOL. Baker is garbage with terrible record in his 6 years NFL not just on opening days. They ran him out of town in Cleveland. He has no leadership either. Wrong person to compete with Trask if they hold real competitions in first place.