Sooners in the NFL: Former Oklahoma Quarterback's Stellar Start Continues

Former Sooner Baker Mayfield is in the thick of the NFL MVP race, and his performance on Sunday built on his already-strong case for the award.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

It’s only Week 6 of the NFL season, but former Oklahoma signal caller Baker Mayfield continues to make his case for MVP.

Mayfield, now in his eighth season in the NFL, led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 30-19 win over the San Francisco 49ers. 

The former Sooner quarterback completed 17 of his 23 pass attempts for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Mayfield also rushed for 15 yards on a miraculous scramble in the third quarter, when the Buccaneers held only a one-point lead.

PURE BAKER MAYFIELD 😡

📺: #SFvsTB on CBS pic.twitter.com/K828xrTkBD

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 12, 2025

Tampa Bay improved to 5-1 with the win, and the Buccaneers are first place in the NFC South.

Through six games in the 2025 season, Mayfield has thrown for 1,539 yards and 12 touchdowns with only one interception. Mayfield is currently second in DraftKings’ NFL MVP odds, behind only Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who won the award last year.

Mayfield is playing his third season with the Buccaneers after leading them to back-to-back NFC South titles in 2023 and 2024. He spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Cleveland Browns and split the 2022 season between the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams before signing with Tampa Bay in the 2023 offseason.

Mayfield came to Oklahoma in 2014 after spending the first year of his college career as a walk-on at Texas Tech. He spent three seasons as the Sooners’ starting quarterback, compiling a 33-6 record during that span. Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy in 2017, his final year at OU, and finished that season with 4,627 yards, 43 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Brown Catches Two TDs as Chiefs Win

Hollywood Brown helped the Kansas City Chiefs get back on track on Sunday.

The ex-Sooner wideout caught two touchdown passes as the Chiefs defeated the Detroit Lions 30-17. Brown finished the day with four catches for 45 yards.

The Chiefs, winners of two of the last three Super Bowls, started the season 2-3 before beating the Lions on Sunday Night Football. 

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With Rashee Rice suspended for the first six games of the season, Brown has seen a larger role in Kansas City’s passing game. He has logged 302 yards and three touchdowns thus far.

Brown was a three-year Sooner and earned First Team All-American honors as a junior in 2018. After that year, Brown declared for the NFL Draft and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens.

Brown spent three years in Baltimore before being traded to the Arizona Cardinals ahead of the 2022 seasons. He played with the Cardinals for two years before joining Kansas City in 2024.

Bonitto’s Hot Start Continues

Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto reclaimed his spot atop the NFL’s leaderboard in sacks on Sunday.

Bonitto logged a sack in the Broncos’ 13-11 win against the New York Jets in London. The linebacker now has eight sacks, the most of any defender in the NFL. He entered the day tied with New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns for the most.

Bonitto finished the defensive battle with six tackles, three solo stops and the sack.

During his four-year career at OU — from 2018 to 2021 — Bonitto registered 117 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 18.5 sacks and three fumble recoveries. Bonitto redshirted in 2018 and could have played in 2022, but he opted to declare for the NFL Draft.

The Broncos picked Bonitto in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Bonitto earned Second Team All-Pro honors and made his first Pro Bowl in 2024.