The Carolina Panthers tried to turn up the heat on Baker Mayfield in Week 17. He turned it right back on the Panthers.
On Tuesday, the NFL named Mayfield the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 17 after he threw as many touchdown passes (five) as he did incompletions in a 48-14 blowout win at Raymond James Stadium. Mayfield completed 27 of 32 passes for 359 yards, those five touchdowns and no interceptions for a near-perfect passer rating of 153.0.
The Buccaneers' red-hot passer was particularly effective when Carolina chose to send blitzes at him; in fact, all five of his touchdowns came against the blitz, according to NFL Next Gen Stats as he was 12 for 12 for 90 yards in that situation. His five touchdowns against the blitz were the most by any NFL quarterback since Patrick Mahomes had five in Week One of the 2022 season.
Mayfield has now won six conference Player of the Week awards, including two in the last three weeks. He was also thus rewarded in Week 15 after leading a 40-17 romp over the Los Angeles Chargers with a four-touchdown performance. He has captured a POTW award with three different teams, including the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14 of the 2022 season and the Cleveland Browns in Week Seven of 2020 and Week 16 of 2018. His first Player of the Week award as a Buccaneer came in Week 15 of last season when he became the first visiting player in the history of Green Bay's Lambeau Field to post a perfect a 158.3 passer rating.
Mayfield's POTW award is the fourth by a Buccaneer in 2024, all on offense. Running back Bucky Irving won the honor in Week 13 and running back Sean Tucker took it home in Week Seven.
Mayfield's performance in Week 17 led Tampa Bay back into first place in the NFC South with one week to go in what was essentially a must-win situation. In so doing, he also put together a rare combination of statistical achievements. According to Elias Sports, Mayfield became the fifth player ever with 350+ passing yards, five-or-more touchdown passes, a passer rating of 150.0+ and completion percentage of 80.0+ in a game, joining Tom Brady (twice), Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger and Deshaun Watson.
With his five touchdown passes, Mayfield increased his career-best total in 2024 to 39, which is tied for the second most in the NFL. He has also achieved new career highs in passing yards (4,279), completion percentage (71.7%) and passer rating (107.6). He ranks third in the NFL in yards, second in completion percentage and fourth in passer rating.
