Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield admitted he struggled to get into the game as the Tampa Bay team went down 20-6 to a pumped-up Lions outfit in a one-sided week 6 encounter.
The former Cleveland Browns QB summed up the game in a nutshell "We sucked today,’’ Mayfield told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.
"I sucked. We sucked. It was awful from the get-go. Can’t play like that. We didn’t start fast. We didn’t pick it up in the middle and we didn’t finish strong. We have to be better."
The Lions are looking likely to win the NFC North with their fifth win out of six, with the next best placed team being the Packers with two wins.
The Buccaneers still top a highly competitive NFC South, with the Tampa team, the Falcons and the Saints all sitting on three wins.
Mayfield had good reason to feel disappointed with his output throwing just 19-37, with one interception.
Overall though the Bucs were awful going forward earning only 13 first downs, 251 total yards and going a woeful 2-12 on the third down.
The Lions have created a habit of breaking down offensive structures and while Tampa Bay was decent on defense, their misery going forward cost them a vital opportunity to pull away in the conference.
"The Lions are a good ball club that if we play like that, we’re going to lose every time. We played good defense, the special teams [did] an amazing job again, and the offense — we just need to pick our s*** up," the QB said.
The Buccaneers will look to improve when they take on divisional rivals the Falcons in week 7.
