Baker Mayfield, Todd Bowles talk 'questionable' officiating after Bucs loss to Lions

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' hype as the best team in the NFL lasted only a week. The Bucs fell short in their primetime Monday Night Football matchup against the Detroit Lions to drop them to 5-2 on the season, but still leading the way in the NFC South.

Things didn't go the Buccaneers' way from the jump against the Lions. Detroit controlled the game from the get-go, getting out to an early 14-3 lead, and never looked back on their way to a 24-9 victory.

There was much to be frustrated about if you were the Bucs or a fan from the loss, but one of the biggest gripes that arose from the game was how awful the officiating seemed to be throughout.

It wasn't about how many penalties were or were not called, but more so the context behind why certain calls were made and others not. The Krewe has let it be known their displeasure with the officiating of the game loudly, and it appears that the team feels the same way.

Baker Mayfield 'frustrated' with officiating vs. Lions

"Third down defensive holding call that wasn't called, and also still pretty damn confused about the double review. Lot of things in that game were a little questionable, but a lot of frustration at the end of that," Mayfield said immediately following the loss. "It might be displaced onto John Hussey in the moment, but I work my ass off and I put a lot into this game, so when things that I don't seem or deem fair, I'm going to let somebody know, and that's good, bad, indifferent."

Mayfield was not shy in expressing his thoughts on how the refs performed on Monday night, specifically calling out multiple areas where they failed to make the right call, including the all-important fourth-down conversion that wasn't after a double review. Mayfield didn't go over the top during the game, but his frustrations did show at the end of the game towards lead official John Hussey for not calling a trip on a Lions' defender.

Mayfield wasn't perfect on the night, and in fact, he missed a handful of throws that he normally makes. While the officiating might not have been up to par, you have to battle through it and continue to play at a high level.

The double review on Cade Otton's fourth-down catch that was initially ruled a first down, then redacted and turned into a turnover on downs has become the main talking point about the officiating. And when discussing it via the NFL's Pool Report following the game, NFL Vice President of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth tried to further explain the reasoning behind the "double review".

NFL VP of Instant Replay explains double review on fourth down call

"We did look at the spot. We were trying to mirror angles together. Later in the process we received an enhanced view from broadcast that showed that when the knee was down, the ball was short of the line to gain," said Butterworth. "We were having issues with the referee's O2O (official-to-official communication system), which is why he was brought back to the monitor. We did not show him anything on the screen at that point, it was simply to communicate to clean up the ruling on the field."

The explanation given by Butterworth from the pool report doesn't make it any easier to digest for Tampa Bay fans or those associated with the organization. The Bucs were looking to drive and thought they had a first down twice before being told they had not. The NFL is the world's most well-run sports business, so it should be expected that everything associated with it would, in turn, reflect grade A results. On Monday night, it didn't, and that will have to be addressed moving forward.

Head coach Todd Bowles rolling with the punches

While Mayfield and the fanbase have been more vocal regarding the poor officiating against the Lions, Bucs' head coach Todd Bowles just appears to be rolling with the punches, stating that it's not great, but it is part of the game.

"Once they make a review and say it out loud over the headset, you kind of go with it. I'm not used to going back and then making another call and changing it, but he explained it. It was an ugly look, but he explained it, and they went with it. It's been happening once a week in that aspect of it. They're going to be human and make mistakes."

Yes, the officiating was bad, but the Buccaneers have to do a better job of playing their game. There were too many instances of missed plays, bad play calls, penalties, and just overall execution that cost the Bucs this game, not just the referees.

Tampa Bay will look to get things back on track this week as they stay on the road and head to Louisiana to take on the New Orleans Saints in an important NFC South matchup before their Week 9 bye.

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