Baker Mayfield did not need to watch the film to know the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had been outplayed. The quarterback could feel it in his bones after the joint practice session with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Baker Mayfield Delivers Honest Assessment of Buccaneers’ Joint Practice
Tampa Bay left Tuesday’s joint practice with the Jaguars with plenty to clean up after having a hard time matching Jacksonville’s energy, physicality, and execution.
Mayfield was direct when asked about the day.
“I thought they gave us some good looks. They were playing with their hair on fire. I’ll say that,” Mayfield told reporters. “If this was a full game, I don’t think we would have come out on the winning side of it. So, [it was] just a little eye-opening. [I’ve] got to get back and watch the tape.”
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It was not the kind of assessment the Bucs wanted as only three weeks remain from the start of the regular season.
According to BucsGameday, which was live on the scene, the Jags consistently made the more physical plays, particularly during 11-on-11 work. Tampa Bay had a hard time running the ball, had trouble sustaining its passing game, and repeatedly gave Jacksonville opportunities to make plays at the catch point.
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Five different passes were knocked away by Jaguars defensive backs.
Even when Tampa Bay appeared to have something going, penalties and drops often got in the way.
Devin Culp dropped a well-placed throw from Jalon Daniels. Sean Tucker appeared to find the end zone on a rushing touchdown, only for the play to be erased by a holding penalty.
Mayfield had his own share of problems. He threw two interceptions during the session. The first came on a pass intended for Chris Godwin Jr. that was tipped and picked off. The second went directly to safety Antonio Johnson.
Mayfield, with an 86.1 PFSN QB Impact grade in 2025, also missed on several throws, including an errant pass late in the session that appeared to come after a miscommunication that ended in another interception.
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It was not an easy afternoon for the Buccaneers offense, and Mayfield did not try to make it sound otherwise.
“I think from my standpoint, they out-physicaled us, and that’s never what you want to have,” he said.
The quarterback’s frustration was not necessarily about the team’s understanding of its offense. That part, Mayfield believes, is coming along.
The Buccaneers have spent training camp learning Zac Robinson’s system, working through terminology and getting comfortable with the checks and adjustments that come with it. Mayfield said the players are in a good place when it comes to knowing what they are supposed to do.
Now they have to do it.
“I feel like we are in a good spot with the understanding of the system, the checks, what we are trying to get done, and now it is just strictly about execution and physicality,” Mayfield said. “That’s the part today that we were lacking. I don’t think that anybody is too far behind when it comes to the knowledge of what we are trying to get done, which is great; that is what you want at this point in camp, but also, when you have that down, the execution needs to be there.”
Joint practices are designed to create a different kind of challenge than a normal training camp session. Players face unfamiliar opponents, and there is little room to hide when the other side wins individual battles. Jacksonville won plenty of those.
The Jaguars got after Tampa Bay’s offensive line during one-on-ones, with John Hines-Allen repeatedly causing problems. Luke Goedeke struggled in his reps against the Jacksonville pass rusher, while Tampa Bay’s backup offensive line also had difficulty handling the Jaguars’ second unit.
