by Carter Brantley

Baker Mayfield started out the season as a dark horse MVP candidate, pulling out miraculous game-winning drives and leading the Bucs to a 6-2 start. 

Now?

He and his teammates are playing their head coach out of a job as they fall to under .500 for the year at 7-8 following a loss to the now-division-leading Carolina Panthers. 

While there’s still a path to Tampa Bay making the playoffs by winning the certified worst division in football, Sunday’s performance emphasized the likely futility of that thinking, both in terms of the Bucs accomplishing it or it even being worth watching this team in a playoff game. 

Mayfield put forth another pedestrian performance punctuated by a game-ending pick with a chance for yet another one of those Baker comebacks. 

The run game was painfully bad, as star back Bucky Irving struggled to the tune of 3.7 yards per carry in the afternoon. 

None of the Bucs’ “star-studded” wideouts managed over 40 yards receiving, with veteran Mike Evans failing to link up with Mayfield in any meaningful manner. 

Evans hauled in a touchdown but was otherwise an ineffective course of action, with 5 total catches for 31 yards on 9 targets. 

The defense was again just bad enough to lose without being spectacularly awful, as they failed to force any turnovers but also held the Panthers to just under 300 yards of total offense. 

Chase McLaughlin at least went 2/2 on field goals with a 50 yarder mixed in to boot (no pun intended). 

The Bucs take on the struggling Miami Dolphins next week, as the ‘Phins benched starting QB Tua Tagovailoa this week in favor of rookie Quinn Ewers. 

The results were about as expected, with Miami getting trounced by the Bengals Sunday afternoon. 

But never count out the Pewter Pirates to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory; they’ve done so against much worse competition. 

The continued calls for Todd Bowles’ head only grow louder as this team continues to flounder away on the ship deck. 

While probably not the most epic collapse in NFL history (hey, the sport has had some gnarly ones), this would absolutely go down as the biggest fall off in Bucs history. 

Fitting for the team to do so on the 50th anniversary of the organization’s existence. 

It is indeed a Bucs life. 

Kansas might be giving money to Clark Hunt.

The clock is ticking in Kansas for the owner of the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs franchise, Clark Hunt, and the owner of Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals franchise, John Sherman, to accept funding from the state to build a football venue and a baseball stadium. The deadline is December 31^st. But there could be some movement in Kansas three days before Christmas. The Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council is meeting to discuss giving money to Clark for a Chiefs’ venue and while Sherman is not involved in this session, there seems to be a feeling among Kansas politicians that Sherman has decided to move his operation from Missouri to Kansas. So much so that Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson thinks that a deal is nearly done. “Senate President Masterson believes the Kansas City Royals are fully committed to Kansas, which fulfills their obligation regarding the advanced timeline given from the LCC,” a spokesperson said.

The problem began in April 2024 when Jackson County, Missouri voters said no to extending a sales tax that would have funded a Royals’ downtown stadium and a renovation of Hunt’s Chiefs’ football venue. Kansas lawmakers approved a proposal that would see STAR bonds used to help pay 75% of the cost of building two stadiums in Kansas. Additionally, sports gambling and lottery gaming and sales tax revenue from businesses in the stadium development districts would cover bond debt. Another source of revenue to pay off the debt would come from a liquor tax. Kansas lawmakers could use a mechanism that would allow up to 100% of sales tax revenue on alcoholic liquor sales within a stadium district to pay off bonds for the structures. Missouri leaders don’t think there is a done stadium deal in Kansas. They can use the Missouri born Yogi Berra’s quote to prove their point. It ain’t over til it’s over.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com

Arrowhead Stadium

Uganda players missed Saturday’s training session ahead of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) opening game against Tunisia later on Tuesday. 

The Cranes stayed back at their base camp, the Ritz Carlton Rabat as a form of protest over bonus promises by the Ugandan Football Federation. 

The latest development came as a setback for Paul Put’s side who were the first team to arrive Morocco for the tournament that begins on Sunday.

Sports Talk Florida confirmed that the protest was led by senior players in the squad who are unhappy about the proposed €6,000 bonus for qualification from the first round.

A timely intervention by Uganda FA President, Moses Magogo late on Saturday night resolved the crisis and the Cranes are set to resume training on Sunday. 

After missing the last two editions, Uganda will be making their eighth appearance on the AFCON stage in Morocco.

The East African nation are in Group C and they will first take on Tunisia on December 23 followed by Tanzania and a final fixture against Nigeria on December 30. 

Uganda are yet to lift the Africa Cup of Nations trophy and their best result in the tournament was in 1978 when they finished as runners-up.