Mayfield vows to fix sputtering Buccaneers’ lack of killer instinct on offense

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Baker Mayfield vows to fix a lack of “killer instinct” in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Pro Bowl quarterback threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns without an interception in Sunday’s 28-23 loss to the New England Patriots, but says “little things” that make the difference between good and great teams are holding the four-time defending NFC South champions back.

Poor execution on offense and uncharacteristic mistakes on defense were culprits against the Patriots (8-2), who scored on three plays of 55 yards or more.

“Little things will get you beat,” Mayfield said.

“We didn’t have any rhythm on offense, we didn’t have any rhythm on defense, we didn’t have any rhythm on special teams, and it showed,” coach Todd Bowles said.

The Bucs (6-3) took the opening kickoff and drove 65 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead. By the time they got in the end zone again, New England had surged to a 21-10 lead with Drake Maye throwing for a pair of touchdowns and TreVeyon Henderson scoring on a 55-yard run.

“At some point, when stuff comes up during the week, whether it’s mistakes or things we talk about and then it shows up on Sundays, you have to have pride about you,” Mayfield said. “You gotta have the fear of that failure and messing up for your teammates. … You have to have that responsibility and accountability for the guys around you and get it fixed.”

Despite a slew of injuries that have forced Bowles to juggle his lineup from week to week, Mayfield has the Bucs off to another solid start and in a position to repeat as division champs.

The quarterback said the offense lacks a “killer instinct” and resolving that issue begins with him performing better in some situations.

“We are a good team. But to be great, when you score on the opening drive, you know what it looks like, you set the tone, you’re not satisfied with it. You come back and in your head, it’s 0-0 and you go do it again,” Mayfield said. “Right now, I think we are lacking that on offense, and it comes down to me. That’s my job to get that fixed, and I will do that.”

The Bucs, who were coming off a bye week that provided some much-needed rest, continue a challenging stretch of the schedule with road games the next two weeks against the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams.

“Offensively, I am hoping our guys do get (upset) about this,” Mayfield said. “This isn’t the end of our season, I know that. We still have very important games ahead of us. But games like this, when you don’t win them, it should sting. It should really hurt.”