Comes up short in low-volume day

Mayfield completed 18 of 26 passes for 145 yards with a touchdown and an interception while rushing four times for 49 yards in the Buccaneers' 23-20 loss to the Panthers on Sunday.

The Buccaneers went with an extremely run-heavy approach in the first half, and although Mayfield was a lot busier in the second half thanks to game script, he still finished with his third sub-200-yard tally in the last four games. Mayfield also tossed a pick for the third consecutive contest, with Sunday's interception -- an apparent miscommunication with Mike Evans -- coming at the Panthers' 30 with 49 seconds remaining and Tampa Bay driving for a game-tying field-goal attempt, at minimum. Despite the stumble, Mayfield can still lead the Bucs to another NFC South title with a win over the Dolphins in Week 17 and a victory against Carolina at home in the regular-season finale a week later.