TAMPA BAY, Fla. — Reasons to love Baker Mayfield:

He’s fearless.

Cocky.

Passionate.

In a little more than a year’s time, Mayfield has won over the Bucs locker room with his personality and endeared himself to much of the community with his style of play. Tampa Bay has one of the top-scoring offenses in the NFL, and Mayfield’s hellbent approach has had a lot to do with that.

Reasons to stress over Baker Mayfield:

He’s fearless.

Cocky.

Passionate.

The same qualities that put Mayfield in the MVP conversation a few weeks ago also can lead to headaches on the field. There is a swashbuckling quality to the way Mayfield plays quarterback, and that can sometimes lead to unnecessary risks and inconsistent play.

While the Bucs have scored 82 points the past two weeks, Mayfield has also thrown five interceptions. Granted, two of those picks were caused by tips or deflections, but it’s still a pretty stark comparison when you consider Mayfield had two interceptions in his first 153 passes and five interceptions in his next 81.

That boom-or-bust quality is pretty rare in today’s NFL. More than 7% of Mayfield’s passes have gone for touchdowns, and 3% have been picked off. In the last 30 years, only four quarterbacks (Deshaun Watson, Daunte Culpepper, Jeff George, Chris Chandler) have had a similar rate over a full season.

Are there times when Mayfield’s competitive edge turns reckless?

Considering how the rest of the game turned out, it probably doesn’t matter, but it’s worth mentioning that the Bucs were leading the Ravens 10-7 and had the ball on the Baltimore 3 when Mayfield threw an interception in the end zone. Less than two minutes later, the Ravens scored a touchdown and took the lead for good.

Complicating that concern is the reality that neither Mike Evans nor Chris Godwin will be on the field in the coming weeks, and the pressure for Mayfield to carry the offense will only increase.

“A conversation we’ve had with him has been, ‘Hey, we obviously cannot turn the ball over on the 2-yard line or 3 or whatever it was,” offensive coordinator Liam Coen said. “So, yeah, that’s definitely something he’s going to have to really internalize.

“He’s a playmaker and he’s done so many good things for our offense this year, and I don’t want to take that away from him. But there is a fine line, especially when the guys you’ve trusted to throw the ball to in critical moments won’t be out there, so making sure that we protect the team with the ball and make sure we finish every drive with a kick.”

Mayfield, 29, has been through this before. He went from shaky to savior to bust in successive seasons in Cleveland, and much of that was tied up around interceptions. When he was good, he took the Browns to their first postseason victory in more than 25 years. And yet, when the team cut ties with him after 2021, it was partially because he had thrown more interceptions than any quarterback in the NFL the previous four seasons combined.

That doesn’t mean it was always Mayfield’s fault. He played almost the entire 2021 season with a torn labrum and a fractured humerus bone in his non-throwing arm. He wore a harness during games to keep his shoulder from constantly dislocating.

In a way, it’s the perfect anecdote of who Mayfield is.

In a league of bigger, faster, more athletic players, there are few who are as tough or as driven as Mayfield. Those are highly admirable qualities. Until they start adversely affecting the way you play.

When asked about the fine line between being aggressive and reckless as a passer, Mayfield did not seem concerned about occasionally stepping on the wrong side of that line.

“I just try and go through the reads, let the defense dictate where the ball needs to go,” Mayfield said. “When we have things schemed up to win, you have to let it rip. You can’t be timid. When you hesitate, mistakes happen. Lot more sacks. (If) you hold on to the ball, bad things can happen.”

Naturally, the fear is that Mayfield will try to do too much — or be asked to do too much — with Godwin and Evans out of the picture. The Bucs have an unreliable defense, a lack of pedigree at receiver and a huge division game against the Falcons this week.

Fans want to see Mayfield in all his swashbuckling, scrambling, trash-talking glory. Heck, the Bucs want to see that Mayfield, too.

Mayfield can be at his best when he’s pushing the envelope.

And, occasionally, at his worst, too.

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