Buccaneers' Emeka Egbuka reacts to fiery Baker Mayfield, Todd Bowles comments
After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 28-23 home loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday, quarterback Baker Mayfield publicly stated that he felt the Tampa Bay offense lacked a "killer instinct" at Raymond James Stadium.
Head coach Todd Bowles later agreed with Mayfield's assessment. While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Tampa Bay rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka was asked about Mayfield's comments.
Buccaneers don't have "divas" who will react negatively to Baker Mayfield comments
"We don't have too many divas in this locker room who think they're above the law or anything like that," Egbuka said, per the Buccaneers' website. "We know everyone has to do their one-eleventh, whoever is on the field. People took great accountability, came in [Wednesday], and had a focused, locked-in session. [We] just have to continue stacking days throughout the week to fix everything that we need to fix before Sunday's kickoff."
The Patriots seemed to have more energy, outscoring the Buccaneers 21-3 before the hosts tallied their second touchdown of the contest, cutting New England's lead to 21-16. However, neither team managed to score throughout the fourth quarter before New England's TreVeyon Henderson iced the game away with a lengthy touchdown run:
TREVEYON ICES IT
NEvsTB on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/9StEyeQPMR
— NFL (@NFL) November 9, 2025
Why Baker Mayfield wanted to "speak up" after loss to Patriots
Mayfield clearly wasn't pleased with the Buccaneers' energy coming off their Week 9 bye. On Wednesday, he was asked why he felt the need to speak up after a loss to a club that improved to 8-2.
"There's definitely a time and place for team speeches — whatever you want to call it — or calling people out, whatever it is. There is a time and place, and for us offensively, that wasn't up to our standards," Mayfield explained. "Our leaders have to be exceptional in those moments, and everybody else has to do their role, their job, whatever that is, at a very high level. That's the NFL; it's professional football. We expect people to do their job at a high level. Nobody is perfect, but when it's things you've consistently seen on tape and we've executed, you expect them to do it well."
The 6-3 Buccaneers will need to do their jobs "at a high level" when they play the Buffalo Bills (6-3) this Sunday. As of Thursday afternoon, ESPN BET had Tampa Bay as a 5.5-point road underdog.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Sounds Off on Major Sports Controversy
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes may take calculated risks on the field, but he’s apparently not much of a fan of gambling outside the sport.
The sports world has been rocked by a series of major scandals involving sports gambling, which has ensnared athletes from the MLB and NBA in criminal investigations. The NFL has already cracked down on gambling among players and is considering further measures to limit wagers on the sport in the wake of the scandals.
Mahomes added his input this week, saying he doesn’t see the appeal in gambling.
Patrick Mahomes ‘Stays Away’ From Gambling
When asked about the recent arrests this week related to sports gambling, Mahomes said he makes sure to distance himself from the gambling world and recognizes the dangerous potential of sports gambling.
“They let us know, the NFL and NFLPA tell us all the different rules that you can and cannot do,” Mahomes said, via Pro Football Talk. “I just stay away from it. I don’t want to put myself in that position. Your life is so great, why mess with it?”
Sports gambling has long been a controversial topic, dating back to MLB great Pete Rose’s lifetime ban for betting on the sport. There have been a series of troubling developments recently, including the arrests of Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier in October for their role in an alleged gambling ring.
Mahomes said there is another dark side to gambling — the intense pressure, and often abuse, that players suffer from fans who have money tied to their performances.
“It gets weird sometimes when fans talk about it,” Mahomes said. “You’re just trying to live your life and play the games and they get really attached — even more than the regular fans — because they have money on the line. To them, I would just say don’t do anything that you can’t recuperate or live without. It’s a crazy world we live in these days and see all that happen, but I think you just focus on the football, focus on the sport you love and why you’re here and you won’t have to worry about that other stuff.”
NFL Could Crack Down More
The NFL has enacted new, stricter rules on gambling in recent years. That includes a ban on gambling in all team facilities — which extends to hotels when teams travel.
In the wake of the recent developments, the NFL is reportedly looking to restrict certain forms of sports gambling. CBS Sports reported that the league sent a memo to teams saying they have engaged decision-makers “to limit — and where possible [prohibit] altogether — prop bets in the NFL.”
As the CBS Sports report noted, prop bets have been at the center of the recent sports gambling controversies.
“The latter two categories are types of bets that have created controversy in baseball and basketball. In MLB, two Cleveland Guardians pitchers were indicted this week on conspiracy charges related to the players allegedly working with bettors on specific types of pitches they would throw.”
