Cutting Down On Turnovers
February 24th, 2026
Accepting bad with the good.
Look, Joe can live with Baker Mayfield’s German shorthaired pointer puppy approach to football. It’s exciting and fun and galvanizes the Bucs.
But it also leads to injuries and, worse, turnovers.
That’s the only conclusion Joe can come to when he noticed this ugly stat on Mayfield. Apparently, he was responsible for 88 percent of all Bucs turnovers last season. That’s not good.
Mayfield’s 88 percent of the Bucs’ turnovers was the highest of any player for any team in 2026. Again, not good.
But here is the trick with Mayfield: If you neuter his playing style, you have also neutered his effectiveness. Mayfield is a lesser player when he doesn’t play his way.
For example, last year Mayfield had 11 picks and 11 fumbles. In 2024 Mayfield led the NFL in picks (16) and fumbles (14) yet threw for 4,500 yards (third in NFL) and was second in the NFL in touchdowns (41).
So with Mayfield, you have to take the bad with the good. You pretty much have to accept he’s going to be dinged up at some point, and he will turn the ball over.
The riddle here is, can those elements be toned down without cutting off Mayfield’s sack (production)?
It’s a delicate balance.