Baker Mayfield Furious After Todd Bowles Refuses to Go For It on Fourth Down

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers visited Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday afternoon for a very important divisional matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. A win for either side would keep them apace for the NFC South lead along with the 5-7 New Orleans Saints, playing their own divisional matchup today. In short there is a surprising amount at stake for a battle between two extremely average teams.

That much is clear from how Baker Mayfield was acting on the first drive. The Bucs QB came out playing his usual brand of hard-nosed football and got the offense down the field pretty smoothly on the opening possession of the game. On a third down just after midfield, Mayfield scrambled but was short of the line to gain by a few yards. The cameras zoomed in on him and caught him screaming at the Tampa Bay sideline that they should go for it, but head coach Todd Bowles almost immediately ushered the field goal team on the field so Mayfield’s reaction was caught live.

He was… displeased. To say the least.

You get both sides. Even the most aggressive coach this side of Dan Campbell would have to think twice before going for it on fourth down in field goal range on their very first possession. Mayfield is a madman with a wildly irrational belief that he can will just about anything to happen on the football field. Ultimately modern thinking sides with Mayfield; 55 yards is a long field goal and there’s tons of time to make up for whatever might be lost if the offense went for it and failed.

But anybody who’s seen Bowles in action knows that simply would never be his decision. He will absolutely refuse to be aggressive until his back is against the wall. It worked out fine this time, but Mayfield’s anger speaks volumes about how he feels about it.