Former Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield Shines in Prime Time Loss

In an NFL prime time showcase, in a huge divisional showdown, in a shootout with a red-hot quarterback, Tampa Bay QB Baker Mayfield shined.

But Kirk Cousins, his Atlanta counterpart, was brighter.

The former Oklahoma quarterback completed 19-of-24 passes for 180 yards and three first-half touchdown passes, but the Bucs defense couldn’t withstand Cousins’ career offensive outburst.

Cousins completed 42-of-58 passes for 509 yards and four touchdowns in the Falcons’ 36-30 overtime victory on Thursday night in Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium.

Cousins’ throw over the middle to KhaDarel Hodge at the start of overtime split the Tampa defense and went 45 yards for a walk-off touchdown.

Cousins had two possessions in the final three minutes of regulation thanks to a Bucs fumble. He was intercepted on the first one, but Tampa couldn’t pick up a first down. That gave Cousins one more chance, and he directed a drive that resulted in Younghoe Koo’s 52-yard field goal to force overtime. 

Tampa Bay fell to 3-2 on the season and 0-1 in NFC South Division play, while Atlanta improved to 3-2 and 2-0.

Mayfield led a field goal drive early in the fourth quarter to break a 27-27 tie. Mayfield hit Mike Evans for 13 yards, then scrambled out of bounds for an 18-yard gain, then avoided a third-down sack to pick up 3 yards and set up Chase McLaughlin’s 53-yard field goal that made it 30-27 with 10:23 to play.

The Falcons tried to tie it with a 54-yard field goal, but the kick was blocked, leaving the Bucs with a 3-point lead and 6:29 left on the clock.

Koo’s field goal midway through the third quarter cut Tampa’s lead to 24-20, but Mayfield led the Bucs on a field goal drive of his own by completing 3-of-3 passes for 37 yards and adding a 9-yard scramble. 

The drive ended when Mayfield was sacked on third-and-3 from the 7 and appeared to suffer a slight injury to his right leg. Mayfield did walk off the field without assistance and the Bucs medical team immediately began assessing his injury, although Mayfield didn’t miss any snaps.

Mayfield had a fantastic first half as he staked the Bucs to a 24-17 halftime lead.

Mayfield threw three touchdown passes in the first half — two to Evans and one to his old OU teammate, Sterling Shepard — and completed 12-of-15 throws for 131 yards. 

After the Falcons took a 7-0 lead on their opening possession, Mayfield and the Bucs responded immediately. He fired a pass to Evans for 15 yards, then on third-and-5 hit Evans for a 9-yard pass across the middle. On third-and-9, Mayfield connected on a screen pass to tight end Cade Otton, who gained 15 yards. Then on first and goal from the 2, Mayfield rolled right and zipped a TD pass to Evans to tie the game at 7-7.

Mayfield found Chris Godwin over the middle for 11 yards to start the next drive, then connected with Godwin for 7 yards to set up McLaughlin’s first 53-yard field goal and a 10-7 lead.

Atlanta re-took the lead at 14-10, but Mayfield opened the next drive with a 22-yard pass to Otton, then delivered an over-the-shoulder corner route to Evans for a 23-yard touchdown and a 17-10 Tampa lead.

The Falcons knotted it up at 17-all, but Mayfield and the Bucs again responded — this time keyed by a 58-yard run by Rachaad White to the Atlanta 15-yard line. On third-and-goal from the 4, Mayfield again rolled to his right and slipped a perfect throw through a tight window to Shepard for  24-17 lead just before halftime. It was Shepard’s first TD as a Buc, and his first from Mayfield in nine years.

That touched off a sideline celebration dance between the old OU teammates, who reunited this season for the first time since 2015 — Shepard’s senior year and Mayfield’s first as the Oklahoma starter.

Shepard, 31, played his first eight seasons with the New York Giants and caught 372 passes for 4,095 yards and 23 touchdowns. But he’s also endured multiple season-ending injuries in his career and was all but retired last offseason.

At Mayfield’s urging, however, the Bucs signed Shepard as a free agent in the preseason. Shepard didn’t make the final 53-man roster cut, but the Bucs did bring him back to the practice squad. 

He was elevated to Tampa’s active roster prior to the team’s Week 3 loss at Denver, then in last week’s win over Philadelphia, he caught three passes for 51 yards, including a 30-yard grab.

“I just trusted God, trusted His plan, and, yeah, I just stayed faithful to Him,” Shepard said after the Eagles game. “And I think that’s the reason why I’m here.”

Shepard said rekindling that chemistry and magic with the 29-year-old Mayfield is simply special.

“He always amazes me,” Shepard said. “Like, there was a couple of those plays, I didn’t know how he got out of him. I don’t see how he does it all the time, but he just plays with so much heart, so much passion, and that’s what I love about him, because everybody feeds off of that. He has such an infectious personality. It just feeds to the whole team. 

“To be working with him again and have these moments, it’s truly a blessing. I mean, like I told you, I feed off of his energy, and I missed that. I haven’t felt that feeling — you know, I had some guys that I had some energy with, but it’s just different with that dude right there. He plays with a chip on his shoulder every single play, and comes to the game that way. So I love every moment of it.”