Some fans, especially Baker Mayfield fans, get annoyed when Joe references that the Bucs’ Pro Bowl quarterback tied for the league lead in interceptions last season with 16.
No shame there. Mayfield had a great year and it’s not like he had 30 picks like bumbling quarterbacks of Bucs past.
Vinny Testaverde threw 35 interceptions for Tampa Bay in 1988. The next NFL quarterback to throw 30 or more picks? That was Jameis Winston, America’s turnover machine. He handed out 30 picks as a Bucs quarterback in 2019.
Again, Joe’s not crying about interceptions. Hall of Fame Quarterbacks like Drew Brees, Brett Favre, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning and more all led the NFL in interceptions for a season.
Today, Joe will switch to talking about fumbles. Mayfield tied for the NFL lead in fumbles last season with 13.
Yeah, a quarterback nearly always leads the NFL in fumbles, but 13 is too many. Joe is uneasy about Mayfield losing only 2 of those fumbles to his opponents. That ratio can’t last. So Mayfield really needs to cut that fumble total by 50 to 70 percent.
Jared Goff, C.J. Stroud, Justin Herbert and Matthew Stafford, all pocket quarterbacks like Mayfield, each got through last season with only 6 fumbles. So Joe thinks six a good target total for Mayfield. Zero is not realistic.
For those wondering, Tom Brady fumbled only 17 times in 57 Bucs games, despite dropping back to pass a truly historic amount in Tampa Bay’s pass-happy offense.
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