- Another standout performance: Mayfield’s 92.2 overall grade ranked first among quarterbacks in Week 5 and ranked as the third-highest single-game grade by any quarterback this season.
- Playing elite football from a clean pocket: Injuries along the Buccaneers’ offensive line have made pass protection a challenge, and Mayfield has faced the third-most pressured dropbacks in the league. But when kept clean, he’s been highly effective — his 86.7 passing grade from a clean pocket ranks ninth among quarterbacks this season.
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Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rebounded Sunday with a decisive road win over the Seattle Seahawks. The eighth-year signal-caller delivered one of his strongest passing performances of the season, showing command despite playing under his third offensive coordinator in as many years.
Mayfield’s 92.2 overall grade ranked first among quarterbacks in Week 5 and ranked as the third-highest single-game grade by any quarterback this season.
He did most of his damage in the second half, going 17-of-19 for 264 yards, three big-time throws and a 95.3 passing grade. Nearly flawless after halftime, Mayfield helped guide the Buccaneers to a convincing win.
Injuries along the Buccaneers’ offensive line have made pass protection a challenge, and Mayfield has faced the third-most pressured dropbacks in the league. But when kept clean, he’s been highly effective — his 86.7 passing grade from a clean pocket ranks ninth among quarterbacks this season.
Let’s dig into the film and break down the standout moments from Mayfield’s performance as he continues to build on a strong 2025 campaign.
Really cool concept from the Bucs here and Baker reads it perfectly.
I like turning the wheel from the slot WR into a dig. Gives the hook/curl defender no chance pic.twitter.com/7KmzCViJMM
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) October 7, 2025
Firstly, the Bucs drew up a really unique passing concept, but it was one that took time to develop. They ran a divide concept, essentially two receivers running a post and a corner route. They built on that with a wheel route from the motion receiver, but the unique wrinkle was that instead of staying in the flat or taking the wheel up the sideline, the receiver broke into a dig route.
That put the hook defender in a tough spot — when he turned to pick up someone in his zone, he saw three receivers pushing upfield, not realizing one was cutting behind him on an in-breaker.
For Mayfield, he did an excellent job staying patient, knowing those two deep routes weren’t going to come open, and hitting the dig as soon as it cleared the flat defender.
What made Mayfield so effective in the second half was his elite anticipation. Nearly every throw was timed perfectly, delivered right as his receivers broke out of their routes.
Baker was absolutely on fire in the second half. One of the best halves I’ve seen a QB play pic.twitter.com/eQVcwSaa0O
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) October 7, 2025
The Bucs drew up another perfect play call later in the second half, this time a Mills concept against quarters coverage from the Seahawks. A Mills concept involves one receiver running a deep dig, with a second receiver running a post right behind it. It’s designed to pull the quarters safety out of the play, opening up the post behind him.
That’s exactly what happened here, but Mayfield still had to time it perfectly. The moment the safety flipped his hips to take away the dig, Mayfield was already winding up to throw. He did a great job recognizing the coverage pre-snap and anticipating that the post would come open. With the outside cornerback essentially playing press-man, Mayfield knew the safety was committed to the dig, and that gave him the green light to fire a laser for the touchdown.
For whatever reason, Baker Mayfield hasn’t gotten the credit he deserves for his arm talent. He has one of the best arms in the NFL that few people seem to talk about — and he put it on display on this throw.
Never question Baker’s arm. My rough estimate says this is about 63 yards in the air pic.twitter.com/vZcAxCNSGx
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) October 7, 2025
There are very few quarterbacks with the arm strength to get to the backside of a read and still hit a receiver in stride — especially when that receiver is already 30 yards downfield by the time the quarterback gets there. You could argue that Baker Mayfield was a bit late working through the progression, but it hardly mattered with the kind of arm strength he showed here.
This ball traveled well over 60 yards in the air from the point of release, and rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka barely had to break stride to haul it in. There wasn’t much else to analyze — it was simply an incredible display of arm strength from Mayfield.
With the way Baker Mayfield played in the second half of Sunday’s game, there wouldn’t have been many teams capable of keeping up with the Buccaneers offense. Mayfield has continued to elevate his play year over year — his overall grade improved from his first to second season in Tampa Bay, and if he stays on his current trajectory, he’ll raise that mark again in 2025.
More importantly, this level of quarterback play could put both Mayfield and the Buccaneers firmly in the Super Bowl conversation.
This news was originally published on this post .
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Submit your questions for the next Big Ten football mailbag
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