Baker Mayfield left Sunday night with plenty to say after the Buccaneers’ 27-24 loss to the Bears, and one play in particular had him convinced Chicago crossed a line.
Tampa Bay was hit with multiple false-start penalties in the game, including two on All-Pro tackle Tristan Wirfs. Mayfield took issue with the second one, saying the Bears were using a tactic defenders aren’t allowed to use at the line of scrimmage.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Mayfield accused Chicago’s defense of barking out the cadence to try to trigger the penalty.
“I don’t know,” Mayfield began (via PewterReport). “The last one, I know they were barking out the cadence, which you can’t do that.
It’s tough for the refs to call that because they’re not right there at the line of scrimmage. They called that on Tristan, but you can’t do that.”
Even with the frustration, Mayfield said he liked the way Tampa Bay battled through the night. His bigger concern was the same issue that has followed the offense all year: turnovers and sloppy execution.
“The team fought, fought to stay in it, against one of the top teams if not the top team in the league,” Mayfield said. “We’re right there, so if we play clean football we can be proud of that. We need to get it fixed.”
The loss wasn’t just about Tampa Bay giving the ball away, either. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had a rough night of his own, throwing a career-high four interceptions as Chicago escaped with the three-point win.
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