BroBible
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield was not happy after his team’s 24-9 loss to the Detroit Lions Monday night. And he was especially not happy with the referees, who left him “confused” after some of their calls.
“Third-down defensive holding call that wasn’t called, also still pretty damn confused about the double review,” Baker Mayfield told the media after the game while discussing the officiating. “A lot of things in that game that were a little questionable.”
Mayfield was referring to the referees initially ruling that Cade Otton had made a first down on 4th-and-4, then confirmed it after Lions head coach Dan Campbell challenged whether Otton had actually completed the reception. Then, however, the referees conducted a second review and determined that Otton hadn’t made the first down, giving Detroit the ball in Buccaneers’ territory.
After review the refs rule that Cade Otton was short of the 1st down marker. Successful challenge for the Lions pic.twitter.com/rr7WNudBxf
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) October 21, 2025
“A lot of frustration at the end of that, might be displaced onto [referee] John Hussey in the moment, but I work my a– off and put a lot into this game, so when things that I don’t seem, are deemed fair, I’m going to let somebody know, and that’s good, bad, indifferent,” Mayfield continued, surely knowing that he would be fined for his remarks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PGosn2R2CY&t=4m56s
None other than Pat McAfee appeared to agree with Baker Mayfield’s assessment of the officiating during Monday night’s NFL game, writing on X at one point, “The NFL looking out for Detroit.. LOVE TO SEE IT.”
On the other hand, Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles told the media after the game, referring to the so-called double review, that “it was an interesting call after they made it, but at the same time, we got the ball back, so it didn’t cost us anything, but it did cost us time on the clock. But that didn’t win or lose the game.”
Bowles is not wrong there. The play did indirectly lead to a 58-yard field goal by Lions kicker Jake Bates. However, that only made the game 24-9 in the Lions favor as opposed to 21-9 and the Buccaneers never did score another point, so it didn’t really matter.
The post Baker Mayfield Rips Referees For Making ‘Questionable’ Calls, Not Being ‘Fair’ appeared first on BroBible.
