Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield missed his third straight game on Sunday, but the team is hoping that his absence from the lineup will be ending soon.
Mayfield’s dislocated right thumb has also kept him off of the practice field since he was injured in Week 3, but he tested his ability to throw the ball last week and head coach Todd Bowles said at a Monday press conference that the current plan is for Mayfield to be involved in practice this week.
“He’s supposed to practice Wednesday,” Bowles said. “We’re gonna take a good look at him there, and we’ll kind of evaluate him during the week and see how he does.”
Jalon Daniels has started while Mayfield has been on the bench and the Bucs have gone 1-2 in those games. Bowles said the team will construct a game plan that takes into account the uncertainty about who will start in Carolina.
“I think you have to,” Bowles said. “Both will be in the meetings, obviously. Both will be in the meetings and we’ll see how the week goes before we decide who it is.
Daniels was 22-of-43 for 164 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Steelers.
Steelers fans overwhelmed Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, boosting the road team’s effort to overcome a 13-0 halftime deficit and a 16-3 fourth-quarter deficit.
Tackle Tristan Wirfs isn’t upset with Buccaneers fans for the lack of in-person support.
“Can you blame them?” Wirfs said, via JoeBucsFan.com. “You know, we’re 1-4 and haven’t really given them much to cheer about.
“So, yeah, it sucks. It sucks when you’re going damn near silent count at home. But you’ve got to give [fans] something to cheer for.”
The Bucs are now 1-5. And the fans didn’t have much to cheer for on Sunday, as the double-digit margin melted into a loss.
Wirfs was asked whether the failure to close out games is physical or mental.
“You know, I don’t really know, to be honest,” Wirfs said. “We’re up by 13 and, I don’t know. I don’t have anything. I’m not going to say anything right now. I don’t know what it is. It’s insanely frustrating. You know, to be up 13 at home. We haven’t won a fucking home game yet. And to not be able to finish out the game is really frustrating.”
The Bucs were on the brink of extending their winning streak to two before it all fell apart. Now, they’re all alone at the bottom of the NFC South with a 1-5 record, looking up at the 3-2 Panthers, the 2-4 Falcons, and the 2-4 Saints.
Next up, the Bucs face the Panthers in Carolina before the Falcons come to town. After that, it’s a Sunday night game in Chicago against the Bears.
If Tampa Bay is ever going to turn it around this season, the time is now. After starting the 2025 season at 6-2, the Bucs are 3-12.
After Sunday’s overtime win against the Buccaneers in Tampa, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a formal complaint to file.
His grievance du jour centered on the quality of the grass field at Raymond James Stadium.
“It’s got to be one of the worst surfaces in the league,” Rodgers told reporters. “And, you know, we’re talking about player safety. You know, I’m very thankful to not get hurt. I’ve gotten hurt twice on this field. You know, in my opinion, because of the turf. Now, I know USF plays here, I believe. But that surface, you know, it’s . . . I don’t think it’s very safe.”
Not all grass fields are created equal. The grass vs. turf debate implies that the grass will be high quality. In Tampa, Rodgers believes it isn’t.
Last year, the quality of the grass on Rodgers’s home field in Pittsburgh was an issue — and Rodgers wasn’t afraid to say so, calling it “borderline unplayable.”
The issues in Pittsburgh apparently have been addressed. In Tampa, Rodgers thinks the same thing needs to happen.
Nothing was going right for the Steelers on Sunday. They trailed the Buccaneers 16-3 in the fourth quarter.
Pittsburgh won 26-19 in overtime.
The Steelers are 4-2 and the Bucs 1-5.
The Steelers dominated the fourth quarter, gaining 230 yards and forcing two Jalon Daniels interceptions. Their fourth-quarter scoring drives were 68, 24, 37 and 2 yards.
Chris Boswell’s 58-yard field goal tied the game 16-16 with 1:55 left. Two plays later, former Bucs cornerback Jamel Dean intercepted Daniels. Dean went 40 yards with the return of the errant pass before Daniels pushed him out of bounds at the Tampa Bay 3.
The Steelers couldn’t get it into the end zone, but Boswell’s 20-yard kick with 1:21 left gave the Steelers their first lead.
They left too much time for the Bucs, though, as Tampa Bay needed only a field goal to send the game to overtime.
With eight seconds left, Chase McLaughlin kicked a 53-yard field goal to tie it 19-19. It was McLaughlin’s fourth field goal of the day, with the others from 43, 47 and 52 yards.
The Steelers got the overtime kickoff, and Aaron Rodgers got his seventh overtime win with a 12-play, 70-yard drive that burned 6:45 of the 10-minute period. He threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Germie Bernard for the game-winner.
The Bucs drove across midfield, but on fourth-and-8 with 1:06 remaining, Jalen Ramsey sacked Daniels to end it. Ramsey had two sacks as did Nate Herbig.
The Bucs sacked Rodgers five times and frustrated him for most of the game. But he finished 33-of-49 for 253 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. DK Metcalf caught 11 passes for 93 yards, and Bernard had 11 catches for 87 yards and a touchdown.
The Steelers outgained the Bucs 300 to 224.
Daniels was 22-of-43 for 164 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Aaron Rodgers threw his 538th career touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter. It has him within one of tying Peyton Manning for third on the all-time list.
It has the Steelers within 16-10 of the Bucs.
The Steelers drove 68 yards in eight plays for their first touchdown, a 5-yard throw by Rodgers to tight end Darnell Washington.
Pittsburgh had two big gainers on the drive: He hit DK Metcalf for a 17-yard gain on third-and-16, and then on the next play, Calijah Kancey was called for a roughing-the-passer penalty after a late shove sent the quarterback to the ground.
Rodgers is now 19-of-30 for 146 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
