Baker Mayfield has already tied his career high for touchdown passes in a season, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won three straight games, moving to the top of the NFC South standings.
Mayfield is working to lead the Buccaneers (7-6) to their fourth consecutive division title, but he believes they will need to play even better in the coming weeks, not just to secure a playoff spot, but to make a strong run in the postseason.
“We will take wins. I don’t really care how it looks,” Mayfield said after a messy 28-13 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, which put Tampa Bay back above .500 after struggling through a stretch where they lost five of six games.
“But offensively, we will have to be a lot more consistent for us to be able to make this push that we want to do, and we know that,” Mayfield added. “There is a lot of ball left, and we have to continue to get better.”
Mayfield threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns against the Raiders but also committed three turnovers in the first half, which allowed Las Vegas to stay close until the fourth quarter.
This is the third straight season the Buccaneers have needed a strong finish to recover from a midseason slump and give themselves a chance to return to the playoffs.
Mayfield has thrown for 28 touchdowns, matching the total he achieved last year while revitalizing his career with Tampa Bay.
The Bucs, with a 7-1 record in December/January games dating back to last season, are the only NFC team to make the playoffs in each of the last four seasons.
“We’ve got four weeks to play. We’re happy to be playing meaningful football in December. We understand what that means,” coach Todd Bowles said. “We have to go out every week and try to squeeze out these games, but it feels good.”
