Bucs’ Baker Mayfield Put His Elite Hustle & Awareness On Display Against Giants

There are aspects of Baker Mayfield’s game that are certainly open to criticism. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signal-caller isn’t always the most accurate passer. 

He’s a gunslinger and sometimes makes big mistakes with the football. 

But there is one thing that no one can criticize about Mayfield: his hustle. The guy is a football player, through-and-through, and clearly loves the game. 

Because of that, his teammates love him. And they’re going to really love the effort he put forth in Sunday’s blowout win over the New York Giants. 

As OutKick’s John Simmons wrote about earlier, Mayfield had an incredible touchdown run where he leaped into the endzone and put his body on the line to score a touchdown for the Buccaneers. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield made two incredible hustle plays in blowout win against New York Giants.

(Getty Images)

And while that play is going to dominate the NFL highlight shows, there were two other plays that won’t get nearly as much attention, but should. 

The first happened when Tampa Bay had a third-down-and-goal from the one-yard line early in the second quarter. 

At the time, the Buccaneers only had a 7-0 lead. Mayfield handed the ball off to Sean Tucker, who plowed into a giant pile of offensive and defensive linemen. 

Tucker failed to get into the endzone, and then he fumbled the football. But the only player on the field who seemed to follow the play to its conclusion was Mayfield. 

He alertly saw the fumble and came FLYING in to make an important recovery. 

That’s a showcase of both incredible awareness and incredible hustle. Not to mention, again, showing a willingness to put his body on the line for the team. 

The Bucs ultimately kicked a field goal on the next play, so Mayfield saved three points for the team. 

Later in the game, with the game well in hand, Mayfield showed that he doesn’t stop giving 100%, no matter what the scoreboard says. 

Leading 30-7 in the fourth quarter, Mayfield handed the ball off to Bucky Irving, who sprinted to the left, made a cutback and found open field up the middle. 

Most quarterbacks would probably sit back and watch their running back churn up yards. 

Not Baker Mayfield. Instead, Mayfield sprinted down the field and made a crucial block to help Irving gain another 15 yards. 

This is the kind of stuff that makes teammates absolutely love you. Although, coaches are probably telling Mayfield, “Hey, we love the heart and the hustle, but you’re the starting quarterback, and we’d rather you not put yourself in harm’s way with a 23-point lead in the fourth quarter.” 

Still, Mayfield just doesn’t have an off switch. 

If he’s on the field, he’s giving his all.