Tonight was rough if you’re a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan. Easily the most humiliating loss of the season. And then on top of that, your QB1 goes down with a shoulder injury. Suddenly, Teddy Bridgewater is in for Baker Mayfield, and apparently, he was not at all ready for live reps under those lights.

According to Bucs reporter River Wells, Bridgewater revealed he had been in Miami to attend his mentor’s funeral this weekend, and only flew into L.A. today before entering the game cold.

He said it’s unfortunate Mayfield got hurt, but he also made it clear he’s confident he can handle the job.

The Buccaneers turned to Teddy Bridgewater to open the second half, lifting Baker Mayfield because of a shoulder injury. It was the first time since he arrived in Tampa in 2023 that Mayfield missed real game time due to injury. And truthfully, he probably shouldn’t have been out there as long as he was.

Even so, Todd Bowles came away encouraged by what he saw from his backup.

“He knows what to do. Obviously, we’ve got to protect him a lot better. It’s not the ideal situation to be in, when they’ve got a big lead and they’ve got their ears pinned back every play. I thought he performed well under pressure,” he said.

Bridgewater went 8/15 and racked up 62 yards. Decent numbers considering the fact that he was under pressure most of the time. Somehow, Tampa Bay is still sitting atop the NFC South at 6–5. But it’s more a reflection of the division than anything they’ve done consistently.

But if Mayfield is going to miss time, things could change quickly. Bowles didn’t hesitate when asked who would carry the load if Mayfield can’t go.

“Well, Teddy will play, obviously, if he’s out for some time. We’ll bring up Connor [Bazelak] behind him, and we’ll go from there. We’re confident in what Teddy can do with a full week of practice, taking every snap and every play. We think we’ll be fine,” Bowles added.

As for Mayfield, Bowles had some things to say on the matter.

Todd Bowles on Mayfield’s injury

Mayfield wasn’t exactly lighting it up before the injury. He went nine of 19, added four scrambles for 19 yards, and took a hit in the second quarter that sent him briefly into the blue tent. He came right back out and kept playing, but on the half’s final snap, an off-balance Hail Mary attempt, he came down awkwardly and grabbed at the same shoulder.

For now, Bowles labeled it as ‘shoulder sprain,’ but an MRI scan tomorrow will tell us how bad it really is.

“Right now, he has a shoulder sprain. He’ll get an MRI tomorrow. He hurt it earlier, he said he was fine and went back into the game, then aggravated it on the last play,” Bowles said.

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As concerning as the injury is, the bigger issue might be how often Baker Mayfield has been running for his life. The offensive line never found its footing. He was under pressure almost every dropback, was sacked twice, and threw multiple interceptions for the first time this season.

His being under pressure meant being unable to go downfield. Tampa mustered only 193 total yards, and only 70 passing yards.