TAMPA, Fla. – In this Bucs quarterback battle, chalk up the first game performance for Baker Mayfield over Kyle Trask.
Mayfield had a touchdown pass and no picks. Trask no TD passes and 1 pick. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles says there were ups and downs for both.
“He (Mayfield) did a good job running the offense, He made the plays he was supposed to make. I thought Kyle made some good throws as well, and he commanded the offense just the same.”
Stats-wise, the nod goes to Mayfield. The former overall number 1 pick was 8 of 9 through the air for 63 yards and a touchdown with a 132.9 passer rating. Trask had the same offensive line players as when Mayfield was in but was only 6 of 10 through the air for 99 yards and a 53.8 passer rating.
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“I felt good, Mayfield said. “Obviously, I’m sure Coach (Bowles) hit on it, a lot of things to clean up offensively,” Mayfield said. We were pretty sloppy. A few illegal formations. It’s the little stuff.”
“It was just good to get back out there getting live bullets again,” Trask said. “I tried to force one in there, but other than that, some good, some bad. But just a lot of good things to learn from.”
Turnovers are the number one concern for the Bucs coaching staff, and even though Mayfield leads in picks over Trask in practice, Mayfield didn’t throw a pick in this game while Trask was intercepted throwing into double coverage on a third and 19 by the Steelers Trenton Thompson.
“I felt very comfortable, so I think I was trying to see if I could squeeze a couple in there, and you know they made a good play on that interception. It’s a good experience to learn from.”
Trask was under more pressure than Mayfield despite running with the same personnel.
“They both had the same guys in there, receivers and offensive-line wise,”
Bowles said.
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Mayfield said there were no problems with Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales calling plays. It’s the first time Canales did that since he was coaching in high school.
“I thought it was great,” Mayfield said. “Like we mentioned last week, we’ve done a lot of call-it periods during practice to kind of get everyone used to how he’s going to call the game as well. I thought it was very smooth.”
Trask will get the nod to start against the NY Jets Saturday night in the Meadowlands but first will go up against a good Jets defense for two days of practice at the Jets facility in Florham Park, New Jersey. More of the starters are expected to play against the Jets.
21 Tampa Bay players sat against the Steelers, including 16 starters.
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