Washington 23, Tampa Bay 20
Q. The situation down there on the fumble. (Regarding jet sweep.) What happened there?
BAKER MAYFIELD: Yeah, it comes back to me just timing it up correctly. First one of the year that happened on, so obviously timing of it, not great. Being backed up, defense had just done a hell of a job getting us the ball.
Another fourth down stop, and, yeah, unfortunate, but that falls on me.
Q. You guys have scored so many points this year. This is probably the fewest since going back to San Francisco. Was it just their ability to possess the ball on offense? What do you think happened there?
BAKER MAYFIELD: Yeah, I mean, we didn't convert some of those third downs early on, and then second quarter got into -- obviously the penalties didn't help us out, getting into longer yardage situations.
We weren't helping ourselves out. Felt like we were able to move the ball, but weren't capitalizing.
Q. I think you guys only had seven possessions tonight. How hard is it to get a rhythm when you're not getting the ball a lot?
BAKER MAYFIELD: Yeah, it's extremely hard to try to get into a rhythm in that circumstance. Like I said, in the first half we didn't capitalize on the chances we had. I think we would've been able to get into a rhythm early on, which would've helped us out in the long run. Obviously the two-minute drill before halftime helped us out getting back in, tying the ballgame up.
Second half just came down to errors on us on the offense.
Q. When you look back on this season, how will you view the season? As successful? Under-performing? What do you think?
BAKER MAYFIELD: Right now it absolutely sucks so it's disappointing overall because I believe in this team. I believe we have the talent and the coaching staff and everybody around us to be able to go far.
But looking back, you know, try to take a step back, big picture is this group fought. A lot of people stepped up throughout the year; a ton of guys that stepped up into huge roles.
There is a lot to be proud of. In this moment that's hard to see, but there's a lot of young guys that are going to be on this roster next year that will to step up and did in a big way. That should build confidence for those guys knowing that who they are as players and as men in adversity situations, to be able to step up like they did.
So that's something to be proud of. And, yeah, it just goes back to being disappointing and not making the plays when you need to the most.
Q. Are you going to be that kind to yourself as well? I know you're really tough on yourself.
BAKER MAYFIELD: Probably not. Just some dumb stuff today that cost the team. So, yeah, it's going to wear on me for a while.
Q. Do you think in time you'll be able to sit back and look proudly on what you were able to accomplish this year with this group of guys? You helped a lot of them grow. Several guys, first catch, first touchdown came because of you.
BAKER MAYFIELD: It's never just about one person. That's what this team -- what they embodied, and that's the most important part. That's the thing they can be proud of, is that we grew together. Guys helped each other out and stepped up.
It's never about one person. Unfortunately made a few mistakes that hurt the team today.
Q. Second and one on the goal line, looked like Graham snapped the ball too soon.
BAKER MAYFIELD: Yeah, trying to get them to jump offsides. I think he thought they did jump offsides or in the neutral zone. Yeah, just one of those things he thought that happened, but just goes back to everybody being on the same page and everybody moving when he snaps the ball and executes the play, and that's absolutely not what happened.
Q. You won a lot of games, but you lost a lot, too, where you just didn't finish it. Is that the next step maybe when you look back, including this game...
BAKER MAYFIELD: Absolutely. Tonight was a perfect example of offensively taking advantage what the defense just did for us. That fourth down stop and obviously not timing the motions up for the jet sweep. So there are things that -- doing all the little things right will always come back to beat you in playoff mode, because you're always playing a good team in the playoffs and they're going to capitalize.
They did that. You look at a loss like this as extremely disappointing because you feel like you can control it and you could've capitalized on some of that stuff. Could have driven the field, gotten points, taken a lot of time off the clock and taken the lead; we didn't do that.
Q. Did you feel like at that point, too, because Bucky was starting to get rolling, that you were in rhythm and that -- without the turnover you would've got that done?
BAKER MAYFIELD: Absolutely. Yeah, especially after that. Yeah, that drive felt like we were going to be able to go 96 yards, and then obviously we moved the ball down the field the next one but ended up with a field goal instead of a touchdown and hurt us in the end.
Q. How frustrating was that at the very end there where the clock ran as much as it did and you didn't have another chance to get back out on the field?
BAKER MAYFIELD: That's frustrating, but that's -- offensively we did that to ourselves. We didn't capitalize on the opportunities and they took advantage of it.
Q. How would you summarize the season as a whole for you and the team?
BAKER MAYFIELD: Obviously you start the season off setting your goals as a team. You start with the division. We did that, and had to battle to do it. So that's one thing to be proud of.
But like I said earlier, it's disappointing because I really believed in this team. I still do. Obviously every year is different. The roster will look different. That's the sad part about it. This group had the makeup to go all the way. Unfortunately we didn't bring our best stuff tonight and Washington did.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports