Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been riding high this season, with Mayfield putting up near-MVP numbers week after week. But that momentum came to a screeching halt in a 24–9 loss to the Detroit Lions. Honestly, the Lions winning wasn’t the shocker; it was Tampa Bay’s offense managing just nine points. And after the game, Mayfield pointed fingers.

He admitted there were way too many “get back on track” plays, with the Bucs constantly behind the sticks. Mayfield said he thought the offensive line held up well early on, but once they were forced into predictable passing situations in the second half, things fell apart.

And that’s not hard to believe. The Lions’ defense, even with a patched-up secondary, made life miserable for him. Mayfield finished with 228 yards on 22-of-50 passing, tossing one touchdown and one interception. He was under fire all night, getting sacked four times. That’s almost as many as he’d taken in his first four games combined (5).

Things went downhill fast after halftime. Mayfield did manage to put together one impressive 11-play, a 67-yard drive that led to a touchdown by receiver Tez Johnson. But that was pretty much the only bright spot. The Bucs missed the two-point conversion and never sniffed the end zone again.

For an offense that’s mostly done a solid job keeping Mayfield upright, the protection was nonexistent tonight. Head coach Todd Bowles also didn’t shy away from talking about Mayfield’s lack of protection.

“I thought Detroit did a really good job of keeping him in the pocket. They kept him in the pocket, and they got pressure from within, so that’s important. We’ve got to block it better, we’ve got to protect him better,” the Bucs head coach said.

He’s right. That’s the line between MVP-caliber Baker Mayfield and the frustrated version fans saw against Detroit. But the pass protection wasn’t the only issue Bowles has to worry about.

Bucs’ 5-2 record doesn’t paint the full picture

Yes, the Buccaneers are sitting at 5–2, but that record doesn’t tell the whole story. You could easily argue they haven’t won a single game convincingly. Their first four victories came by margins of 3, 1, 2, and 3 points. All of those were games that they could’ve easily lost, by the way.

Even their 30–19 win over the injury-riddled San Francisco 49ers isn’t as impressive as it looks. Against a depleted defense, Mayfield and company should have put up 30-plus points. In a way, the Bucs are starting to look a lot like the Bills: capable of looking elite one week and completely lost when they face strong opposition.

Whenever Tampa Bay runs into a legitimate contender, things get shaky. They fell by six to an Eagles team led by a struggling Jalen Hurts, who still managed to hang 31 points on them. That’s not exactly a great look for a supposed playoff defense.

Even though the defense gave up 24 tonight, it’s hard to point fingers their way. They battled, forced multiple turnovers, and kept the game close for as long as they could. But there’s only so much you can do when the offense can’t sustain drives.

And Mayfield’s challenges might just be beginning. The Bucs got Mike Evans and Emeka Egbuka back from injuries for this game, but it didn’t last long. Evans went down again with a concussion and a shoulder injury, missing most of the second half. Bowles confirmed afterward that Evans broke his clavicle and could miss the rest of the regular season.

If that’s the case, Baker Mayfield’s uphill climb just got steeper. The Bucs’ line has to find a way to keep him clean, because without Evans and consistent protection, that early-season MVP version of Baker might not show up again anytime soon.