Mayfield laments Bucs' offensive struggles in loss to Lions: 'I sucked'

Quarterback Baker Mayfield took the brunt of the blame following the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 20-6 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

"We sucked today," Mayfield said, according to team reporter Scott Smith. "I sucked today, we sucked today, it was awful from the get-go. We 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. Plain and simple, we have to be better."

Mayfield finished Sunday's contest completing 19 of 37 passes for 206 yards and one interception with a 56.8 passer rating. The defeat to the Lions marked the first time this season that the Buccaneers were unable to score a touchdown in a game, as all their points came on a pair of Chase McLaughlin field goals.

"We need to pick our shit up," Mayfield added, per ESPN's Jenna Laine.

Head coach Todd Bowles believes that his team didn't handle the first game following a bye in Week 5 very well.

"I think it felt like we came off a bye week and we looked sluggish and we played like that," Bowles said, per Smith.

Tampa Bay remains atop the NFC South standings despite picking up its second loss of the season. While Mayfield was able to connect with Chris Godwin on six of his passes for 77 yards, he struggled to get Mike Evans and Trey Palmer involved as the pair combined for six receptions.

The Bucs also struggled to maintain drives throughout Sunday's matchup and converted just two of 12 third-down attempts. Tampa Bay exits Week 6 averaging 18 points per game and 291.4 total yards per contest through five games. Mayfield has much higher expectations for the offense than what the team has displayed to date.

"We should be putting up a lot more points than we have been. And so we need to be accountable with that, and it starts with me, and we'll get that going," Mayfield said, per Laine.