Baker Mayfield wanted this one on the calendar when the 2026 schedule came out. A Week 2 matchup with the Browns had all the makings of a personal game for the Buccaneers quarterback, who started his career in Cleveland before the Browns moved on and turned to Deshaun Watson.
Instead, Sunday in Tampa turned into another painful step in an 0-2 start.
Tampa Bay carried a 10-point lead into the third quarter, then watched it disappear before a long weather delay late in the fourth. The Buccaneers were on the move when play was halted, but they couldn’t finish the job after the break and fell 23-19.
Afterward, Mayfield was asked whether losing to his old team made the defeat sting more.
“It just stings more because we’re 0-2,” Mayfield said.
The Buccaneers cleaned up the turnover problem that hurt them in Week 1 against the Bengals, when they gave it away four times. Against Cleveland, they lost the ball only once. But the offense still left points on the table, with two red-zone trips ending without touchdowns and a pair of second-half possessions that ended in quick punts and helped keep the Browns alive.
“Frustrated because it’s close,” Mayfield said. “You can feel it.
You can see it. We’re moving the ball at times, and then just shooting ourselves in the foot.
So, that makes it more frustrating when you know you’re right there.”
The Bucs need a steadier offensive rhythm fast, or Mayfield could be stuck waiting for his new contract extension to kick in next year while the season slips away.
In Other News...
Baker Mayfield And Todd Bowles Are Feeling Heat In Tampa Bay
The Buccaneers rocky start has already turned up the temperature in Tampa Bay, with two straight losses leaving Todd Bowles and Baker Mayfield answering for a team that has not matched its own expectations. A defeat against the Browns only added to the unease, and the postgame tone made it clear the problems are not hard to find: penalties, missed tackles and turnovers have all been part of the early mess.
Minnesota is next, and it does not offer much of a breather for a team trying to steady itself before the season slips further off course. For Bowles, the challenge is getting cleaner play and more urgency out of a group that knows the margin for error is already shrinking, while Mayfield and the offense have to find a way to stop feeding the frustration that has followed them out of the first two games. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Already Have A Costly Problem They Must Fix Fast
The Buccaneers home opener only sharpened the early concerns from a 23-19 loss to the Browns, one that dropped Tampa Bay to 0-2 and left familiar issues hanging over the start of the season. Baker Mayfields interception was part of an uneven offensive day, while Bucky Irving provided one of the few consistent bright spots by leading the ground game with 80 rushing yards.
What stood out most was how the game shifted in the second half, when the pass defense started to leak after the run defense had done its job for much of the afternoon. Penalties and missed tackles added to the damage, turning a winnable game into another costly setback, and the Bucs now have little time to clean it up before the problems begin to define their season. [Read more 🡒]
Baker Mayfields Reaction Says Everything About The Bucs Ugly 0-2 Start
After another rough Sunday for quarterbacks around the league, Baker Mayfields postgame reaction fit the mood of a Tampa Bay team still searching for footing. The Buccaneers are off to an ugly 0-2 start, and the frustration around the building is hard to miss after a pair of games that have left little room for comfort.
Mayfield wasnt the only quarterback with something weighing on him after Week 2, but his response stood out because it reflected where the Bucs are right now - disappointed, unsettled and already feeling the pressure that comes with an early hole. With the season still young, Tampa Bay has time to steady itself, but the tone around the team suggests it knows how quickly that margin is shrinking. [Read more 🡒]