The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have already been through a gauntlet in the first half of the season. They’d faced powerhouses like the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, and the Philadelphia Eagles. Yet, Baker Mayfield and company still hit the bye at 6-2. But Mayfield wasn’t getting comfortable. As he put it, the stretch after the bye is when “real football” starts.

The Bucs’ quarterback wasn’t wrong. Tampa Bay hosted the New England Patriots on Sunday, came out flat, and took a reality check when the Patriots beat them 28-23. Right after the game, Baker called out his offense, but in a more constructive and leadership-driven way.

“You know, that’s what I told the team, told the offense after the game, and at some point, when the stuff comes up during the week, and whether it’s mistakes or things we talk about, and then it shows on Sundays, you have to have some pride about you,” the quarterback said after the game.

“You got to have the fear of failure, messing up for your teammates when we talk about something. You got to have that responsibility and accountability for the guys around you and get it fixed. You know, in tight ballgames like this, when you play a good team like the Patriots, little things will get you beat, and that was the case for us on offense today.”

The quarterback wasn’t exaggerating. The Bucs started well when Mayfield led a sharp 65-yard opening drive capped by a 21-yard TD to rookie WR Emeka Egbuka, giving them an early 7–0 lead. But things went south from there. Tampa Bay beat themselves in the details, the exact “little things” Baker Mayfield was talking about.

The Bucs allowed three explosive plays that flipped the game. We’re talking about Drake Maye scoring on a 72-yard touchdown to Kyle Williams and two monster runs by TreVeyon Henderson of 55 and 69 yards. On top of that, those breakdowns weren’t limited to defense either.

Mayfield put up another strong outing, throwing for 273 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. There’s no denying. But the Bucs’ offense made its share of avoidable mistakes as well. A 29-yard gain was wiped out by an offensive pass interference penalty, erasing momentum.

Then, with under two minutes left and the Bucs trailing 21-16, they failed on a fourth-down conversion at the Patriots’ 27. Two snaps later, Henderson’s 69-yard dagger sealed the game. Execution cost them, not effort. The result? Baker Mayfield couldn’t pull off a final-drive comeback. Not this time. Not against the Patriots.

Baker Mayfield’s head coach calls out his defense

Right after the Buccaneers walked out of the Raymond James Stadium with their sixth loss of the season and handed the Patriots their eighth win of the season, the head coach, Todd Bowles, called out his defense for a disappointing Week 10 loss.

“There were four,” the HC said, addressing the Patriots’ four big plays that doomed Bowles’ team. “There were four in obvious situations that we didn’t make, so obviously we didn’t play it well enough. We definitely didn’t coach it well enough. I didn’t coach it well enough; it starts with me and those things can’t happen when you’re playing a good team like that, or any team in the league. We gave them up, they were inexcusable on our part.”

In the process of the four big plays that cost them the Week 10 game, the Buccaneers’ defense allowed the Patriots to gain 435 total yards. New England was efficient both through the air and on the ground, tallying 269 and 166 yards, respectively. Maye has been playing like an MVP contender this season. And it was no exception against the Bucs either.

The Patriots’ second-year quarterback completed 16 of 31 passes for 270 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Rookie Henderson powered the ground game with 147 yards on just 14 carries and a pair of scores, while Mack Hollins (106 yards on six catches) and Williams piled on the rest of the damage against Tampa’s defense.

That said, Baker Mayfield and Todd Bowles surely hoped their team wouldn’t come out flat after the bye week. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened on Sunday.