TAMPA, Fla. — In the fourth quarter, his Bucs clinging to a 20-19 lead over the Saints with six minutes left, Baker Mayfield faced a third-and-9 from his 7-yard line. The Bucs were in real danger of punting the ball back to New Orleans when a field goal could beat them.
Tampa Bay needed a win to clinch the NFC South title, and with the game on the line, Mayfield threw to receiver Mike Evans for a first down. Two plays later, on a third-and-14 from the 12, Mayfield came through again, this time scrambling for 28 yards and another first down.
Former Bucs quarterback Tom Brady, in the FOX Sports booth, called the long run “the play of the day,” telling Mayfield how much his scrambling has helped the Bucs win as he awarded him the LFG Player of the Game honor. Mayfield is the first two-time winner of the award in 18 weeks this season, having also won in Week 4 for his role in the Bucs’ home win over the Eagles.
“It’s win or you’re going on vacation,” Mayfield said after the victory. “Nobody in this locker room wants to go on vacation yet. It’s a tough group, and we knew it was going to be a scrappy ballgame.”
The Bucs trailed 16-6 at halftime and by six in the fourth quarter before rallying, with Mayfield throwing for two touchdowns to get the Bucs the win they needed. They’ll now host a home playoff game next weekend after their fourth straight division title.
Mayfield has won games with his arm all season, but he used his legs more than ever on Sunday. He rushed for 68 yards, easily the most in his seven-year NFL career, and finished the season with 378 rushing yards, second-most ever by a Bucs quarterback. His passing numbers were prolific: 41 touchdown passes, second only to Brady’s 43 in 2021, and exactly 4,500 yards, a career high and the fifth-most in team history. His passer rating and completion percentage both set franchise season records and ranked among the league’s best this season.
“It feels good, but our goal wasn’t just getting into the playoffs,” Mayfield said. “We want to go all the way. This is a tough, resilient group that’s been tested throughout the year, so we’re built for the playoffs.”
Mayfield won Sunday by throwing to his youngest and oldest receivers. The go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter came on a throw to rookie Jalen McMillan, who finished the season with seven touchdown catches in his final five games. The Bucs boldly went for it on fourth-and-8 from the Saints’ 42, and Mayfield connected with McMillan for a 33-yard pass to the 9-yard line, but McMillan was flagged for a celebration penalty. If that didn’t back the Bucs up enough, a holding penalty took them back to their 32-yard line, but Mayfield threw to McMillan for a highlight-reel toe-tap touchdown to take the lead for good.
“It was a hell of a throw when we needed it,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. “We needed every bit of it. We knew it was going to be a tough game. Those guys fought hard. I’m proud of the resilience to come back and win it.”
Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game: Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield | Week 18 DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE
Even with the game won, Mayfield had one more piece of business, rather than the traditional kneel-down to run out the clock. Evans has topped 1,000 receiving yards in every season he has played in the NFL, and he was stuck at 995 with seconds left. Getting the milestone would be 11 straight years for Evans, matching Jerry Rice’s NFL record for the longest streak, and it would also get Evans a $3 million bonus. It meant enough that Mayfield threw him a 9-yard pass to continue the streak. In postgame, the QB wore a black Bucs hat with “M1KE” on the side and “11x1K” on the front in tribute to Evans.
“He deserves that,” Mayfield said. “This guy means so much to this community, this team, this organization, for years. For him to be able to reach that 11 years in a row and tie Jerry Rice is unbelievable.”
[Read more: Bucs’ Mike Evans gets 1,000 receiving yards for 11th straight year, ties Jerry Rice]
If there was one play Mayfield wished he could have back Sunday, it was a third-quarter pass where Evans got open down the right sideline for what could have been a 67-yard touchdown, getting him to 1,000. But Mayfield put a little too much on it and the ball fell incomplete. Evans said he could never fault Mayfield for a mistake like that because he’s done so much right this season.
“He’s been our rock this whole year,” Evans said. “Even when I was out, he was still making plays. He’s an unbelievable player. I’ll never be mad at Bake.”
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]
Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
