Monday Night Mayfield & Increased Pressure Rate
September 14th, 2025
NFL stats queen Cynthia Frelund.
Baker Mayfield is no fan of questions about night games.
It could have something to do with his 1-7 career record on Monday Night Football.
Mayfield doesn’t want to hear it and he doesn’t want to joke about it with a snarky one-liner.
As Bucs fans know well, Mayfield is not a great night quarterback no matter the day of week.
Perhaps the Bucs’ 7 p.m. EDT start tomorrow in Houston will help, versus the traditional 8:15 p.m. kickoff. Something has to give, right?
NFL Network data queen Cynthia Frelund talked about Mayfield’s night struggles on her NFL IQ and Numbers Game show. She predicts the Buccaneers and Mayfield will snap their cold spell after dark with a 22-20 victory on Monday.
Frelund is confident the Texans’ leaky offensive line will be too much for Houston to overcome. However, Frelund also sees a leaky Bucs offensive line, the last-minute retooled unit because Charlie Heck couldn’t cut it led by Graham Barton at left tackle.
Armed with official NFL NextGen Stats data, Frelund notes Mayfield was pressured on 41 percent of his dropbacks against the Falcons in Week 1. That’s the second-most pressure he’s seen since Robert Hainsey was the starting center in 2023, she said.
Last year, the Bucs allowed pressure on just 26 percent of Mayfield dropbacks, the second-best mark in the league.
Joe’s not concerned about the pressure rates. Joe just wants Mayfield to stay healthy. If the offense is humming, with a running attack and using Rachaad White catching passes, Mayfield is far less likely to run or get hit.