Baker Mayfield can only blame himself – not bad officiating – for loss on MNF

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield was seemingly well on his way to being at least an NFL MVP finalist with how he was playing through the season's six weeks. Though those expectations seem to be coming back down to Earth after his performance during the Buccaneers' 24-9 loss to the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football.

Mayfield was held to just 228 yards, a touchdown and a pick in the defeat, struggling to keep Tampa's offense afloat amid injuries to Bucky Irving, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. But that wasn't the only thing he felt was to blame. The former No. 1 overall pick also felt as though there were external forces at play other than the Lions defense that impacted him. Specifically, he called out the referees for a controversial "double review" in the fourth quarter that overturned a potential first down for the Buccaneers.

In his postgame press conference, Mayfield ripped the officials for how that process was handled and criticized them for seemingly calling the game unfairly.

"Still pretty damn confused about the double review. Lot of things in that game that were a little questionable," Mayfield told reporters. "I work my ass off and put a lot into this game, so when things I don't deem are fair, I'm going to let somebody know. That's good, bad, indifferent."

Baker Mayfield shoulders more of the blame for Buccaneers loss than refs

Mayfield may have an argument about the inconsistencies the refs displayed during Monday's game, but at the end of the day as a leader he has to take accountability for he and his team's shortcomings.

The loss wasn't entirely his fault, but there were preventable mistakes like the interception that would've given the Buccaneers a better chance. His 56.0 completion percentage was just the third time this year he's completed less than 60 percent of his passes. His offensive line didn't help him out much either by allowing him to get sacked four times, matching a season-high.

Now, those aren't terrible stats by any means but for the high level he was playing at going into the game, he really should've had a better answer than blaming the refs for the loss.

Heck, typically the head coach would take on the league because there would usually be a fine following any critical comments. We'll see if Mayfield has to face any music from the league office for his harsh words.