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Sooners in the NFL: Baker Mayfield Throws Game Winning Touchdown to Take Division Lead

Baker Mayfield has revived his career in Tampa Bay and has his team in the thick of the playoff race.
Ross Lovelace|
Sooners in the NFL: Baker Mayfield Throws Game Winning Touchdown to Take Division Lead
Sooners in the NFL: Baker Mayfield Throws Game Winning Touchdown to Take Division Lead

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Oklahoma SoonersTampa Bay Buccaneers

Baker Mayfield just won’t go away. 

From Oklahoma, when he showed up in Bob Stoops’ office with no explanation and no warning, to the NFL, with his back against the wall and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fighting for its playoff life.

With Mayfield in charge, nothing is impossible. The team he is quarterbacking always has a chance. Tampa Bay won an improbable thriller 29-25 on the road against the Atlanta Falcons to take the division lead.

The former Oklahoma Heisman winner scored all three Tampa Bay touchdowns and inspired a come-from-behind victory that will be remembered by Buccaneer fans for a long time. Trailing by three points with 3:23 left, Mayfield drove his team 75 yards down the field and threw a back shoulder touchdown to Cade Otton with just 36 seconds left on the clock to lift Tampa Bay in front 29-25.

On the day, Mayfield was 14-of-29 with 144 yards and three total touchdowns. He passed for two scores and ran for a third. He didn't commit any turnovers.

The Buccaneers are now 6-7 on the season and locked into the playoffs as the best team in the NFC South. Tampa Bay, New Orleans and Atlanta are all three tied record-wise, but Tampa Bay holds the tiebreaker.

A year after bouncing around from Carolina and Los Angeles, Mayfield has made the most of his one-year contract with the Bucs. He has proved he still belongs in this league and is a solid NFL quarterback. When he’s in a stable situation, he just wins games.

On the season, Mayfield has 2,934 yards and 21 total touchdowns. He’s thrown just eight interceptions.

“We have been talking about a one-game at a time mindset,” Mayfield said in his postgame interview. “That’s exactly what this was. It doesn’t have to be pretty, there’s definitely a lot we can fix. It’s just finding a way to win, complimentary football. We ran the ball when we needed to in the second half, and in the two-minute drive we made plays.

“Have that mentality that we gotta have every drive. There’s no reason to get complacent. There’s a sense of urgency right now, and this is a really good win — we needed that.”

When asked if he woke up feeling dangerous today, Mayfield opted against his signature saying. “Not today, not today,” he quickly said. There’s no denying that Mayfield and the Buccaneers have been dangerous the entire season, though, and the quarterback continues to rewrite his story.

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Ross Lovelace
ROSS LOVELACE

Ross has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Oklahoma Sooners since 2018. He's made guest appearances on various radio stations and the Sooners On SI podcast. Ross enjoys public speaking and has done so at multiple churches and high schools across the OKC metro area. In addition to writing, Ross has been the Play-by-Play announcer for Crossings’ basketball and football programs since 2020. In high school, Ross started with Thunder Digest, where he discovered his passion for writing. From there, he worked for the OU Daily as a women's basketball reporter and worked for Sooners On SI and Thunder On SI. Ross holds a bachelor's degree in Public Relations and a minor in Communication from the University of Oklahoma. Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Ross played basketball and wrote for his own Thunder blog at Crossings High School in OKC. He enjoys reading, New York Jets football and a week at the beach. Ross and his wife live in New Orleans, where he is a Marketing and Volunteer Coordinator at the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the New Orleans Super Bowl Host Committee. His Twitter handle is @Rosslovelace.

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