The Buccaneers are set to face the Panthers in Tampa Bay as they kick off Week 18 of the NFL season, both teams being part of the NFC South.
Earlier in the season, it seemed like the Bucs were on track to clinch the division title. However, things have taken a downturn recently, and much of that can be traced back to quarterback struggles.
Baker Mayfield had a pretty solid performance in the latter half of the season, and the stats reflect that—at least to some extent.
In his last six games, he’s averaged around 216.3 passing yards per game, and he’s thrown nearly as many interceptions (eight) as touchdowns (nine).
It’s worth noting that those figures include a standout game last week where Mayfield passed for 346 yards on 44 attempts while the Bucs were attempting a comeback against the Dolphins.
However, just two weeks ago, in a game against the Panthers, Mayfield’s performance dipped significantly—he managed only 127 yards and threw an interception.
In that particular game, Tampa Bay leaned heavily on the run, with 33 rushing attempts, ranking as the fourth-highest for the team this season.
Carolina’s pass defense has had a quietly impressive season, allowing an average of just 204.3 passing yards per game and not more than 130 yards in each of their last two games.
Looking ahead, oddsmakers still appear to have faith in Mayfield, setting his expected passing yards at about 225.5 for the upcoming game.
It’s interesting because he hit that mark consistently five weeks in a row earlier in the season, from Weeks 3 to 7. Since then, however, he’s fallen short of that yardage in five of his last eight games.
I have a feeling he’ll come up short again this Saturday.
Play: Baker Mayfield Passing Yards Less than 225.5 (-120, FanDuel)
