The most impressive thing about Baker Mayfield is that he has kept the Tampa Bay Buccaneers afloat after Tom Brady retired following the 2022 season. Mayfield led the Buccaneers to their third straight NFC South title in 2023 and then went toe-to-toe with Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions in the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs.
That was after picking apart the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round.
Through Week 1 in 2024, Mayfield is showing that the Buccaneers may actually be a serious contender this season. He delivered, arguably, the best performance of any quarterback in Week 1. Let’s look at some insights that illustrate Mayfield’s performance in Week 1.
Insights Behind Baker Mayfield’s Spectacular Week 1 Performance
Mayfield completed 80% of his passes on Sunday afternoon, ranking second in the NFL behind only Derek Carr of the New Orleans Saints. He finished 24 of 30 for 289 yards and four touchdowns and did not throw an interception in the Buccaneers’ 37-20 win over the Commanders.
So far, Mayfield has clearly shown that the Buccaneers were justified in giving him a $100 million contract extension this offseason.
TruMedia’s touchdowns per attempt has Mayfield in the NFL Week 1 lead at 13.3%. That means Mayfield threw touchdowns on 13.3% of his 30 attempts. Throwing for four touchdowns and only attempting 30 passes is a testament to Mayfield’s efficiency.
Mayfield also led all NFL quarterbacks in EPA per dropback in Week 1. His efficiency was further validated with an 0.64 EPA per dropback against the Commanders.
Only three quarterbacks had more Week 1 yards per attempt than Baker Mayfield’s 9.6 on Sunday: Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Anthony Richardson. That stat speaks to Mayfield’s competitiveness and willingness to throw the ball down the field on Sunday.
With wide receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan, and Trey Palmer, Mayfield has the weaponry to spread the ball all over the field and lead an up-tempo offense that can gain yardage in chunks.
Mayfield led all NFL quarterbacks with a 146.4 passer rating, nearly four points higher than New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr.
It’s amazing that with so many great quarterbacks in the NFL, Mayfield delivered the best performance of Week 1’s Sunday games. Not Allen. Not Joe Burrow. Not Dak Prescott. Mayfield, playing in his second season with the fourth team in his career, delivered the best and most efficient performance in Sunday’s Week 1 action.
Even after last season’s individual and team success, Mayfield came into this season as an overlooked quarterback. He wasn’t even being viewed as the best quarterback in his own division when the Atlanta Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a lucrative contract in free agency this offseason.
Playing in Tampa Bay– a mid-major market in the NFL — can obscure how good Mayfield is. It’s also worth noting he wasn’t very good in 2021 and 2022, creating low expectations when he arrived to the Gulf side of Florida.
After his performance in Week 1, though, he is putting the NFL on notice. His 2023 season was not a fluke, and he is worth the $100 million he was awarded this offseason. The NFC has a lot of great quarterbacks. Mayfield is now knocking on the door to enter that elite class.