TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield had a career year and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers improved their win total, won a fourth straight division title and made an NFC-best fifth consecutive playoff appearance.
Still, they started an early vacation.
A disappointing 23-20 loss to the Washington Commanders in a wild-card game Sunday night left a bitter taste.
“Obviously, I’m proud of the work they’ve done this year. It wasn’t good enough,” coach Todd Bowles said Monday. “The only team that’s going to be happy is the team that’s going to win the Super Bowl.”
The Buccaneers (10-8) fell short of that goal for the fourth straight season after Tom Brady arrived in 2020, led them to a Super Bowl title and raised the bar for the franchise.
But there’s reason for optimism.
Mayfield is under contract and playing like a top-tier quarterback. He’ll be 30 in April and he became just the fourth player in NFL history to have 4,000 yards passing, 40 touchdowns and a completion percentage over 70.
His teammates love him and he has turned into the franchise QB the Cleveland Browns expected when they drafted him No. 1 overall in 2018 only to give up on him after four seasons.
The Buccaneers are happy to have Mayfield and a solid nucleus around him that includes All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs, future Hall of Fame receiver Mike Evans, running back Bucky Irving and tight end Cade Otton.
“A lot of people stepped up throughout the year, a ton of guys that stepped up into huge roles,” Mayfield said. “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 had 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.”
The main priority for general manager Jason Licht in the offseason will be to address the defense. The biggest needs are an edge rusher, cornerback and linebacker.
Despite missing three games and most of another with a hamstring injury, Evans had his 11th straight 1,000-yard season, tying Jerry Rice for the most in NFL history.
Evans was excellent against Washington and old nemesis Marshon Lattimore, catching seven passes for 92 yards and one touchdown and drawing a pass interference penalty in the end zone. Still, the Buccaneers couldn’t make enough plays to advance.
Evans will turn 32 before the start of next season, but he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
An impressive 2024 draft class gives the Buccaneers more reason for optimism. Center Graham Barton (first round), Irving (fourth round) and wide receiver Jalen McMillan (third round) made immediate impacts.
Barton solidified an offensive line that led a major turnaround on the ground. With Irving leading the way as Tampa Bay’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2015, the offense went from last in rushing two straight years to fourth overall.
McMillan caught seven touchdown passes over the past five games, though he had a key drop early against Washington.
Safety Tykee Smith (third round) and reserve linebacker Chris Braswell (second round) helped a depleted defense survive several injuries. The Buccaneers were missing three starters — safeties Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead and cornerback Jamel Dean — for extended stretches.
The Buccaneers will have several key free agents, including linebacker Lavonte David, wide receiver Chris Godwin, left guard Ben Bredeson, edge rushers Anthony Nelson and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, defensive tackle Greg Gaines and special teams ace Tavierre Thomas.
Godwin, who turns 29 in February, was having an outstanding season before he dislocated his ankle in Week 7. He had 50 catches for 576 and five TDs in just seven games.
The 34-year-old David has been the leader on defense for more than a decade. He has spent his entire 13-year career with the Buccaneers. David was somber after the game, uncertain about his future with the team.
“He’s a coach on the field, he’s a captain, he’s a leader, he’s a heck of a person off the field. He’s our bell cow,” Bowles said of David. “When things go wrong, he’ll fix it from a mental standpoint in the locker room. He gets everybody lined up in the right plays, he understands the game — as well as making a ton of plays himself. He’s meant everything to me, as well as our coaching staff and the players in this building.”
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving reacts after scoring against the Washington Commanders during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs smiles as he holds his son Julius during an NFL football news conference Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. Wirfs has been named to the AP All-Pro football team. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield reacts while speaking at a news conference after an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Washington Commanders in Tampa, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was booed loudly by fans inside Madison Square Garden when he was shown on video screens during the national anthem prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night.
Trump was shown for several seconds giving a military salute. The boos ended when the U.S. flag followed him on the screens, and fans cheered when New York Knicks players were shown. Mentions of the San Antonio Spurs also elicited loud boos.
Trump is watching from Knicks owner James Dolan’s suite, along with granddaughter Kai, personal adviser Boris Epshteyn and Cabinet secretaries Lee Zeldin, Sean Duffy and Doug Burgum. He is the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.
Trump’s Marine One helicopter flew from his home in New Jersey and landed near Wall Street before his motorcade made its way up through Manhattan and to the arena roughly an hour before tipoff. He encountered a handful of people making rude gestures, and outside the area, one group held signs saying “Trump must go.”
He settled into Dolan's suite shortly afterward.
During the afternoon before Trump's arrival, the New York Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service set up a large perimeter surrounding Madison Square Garden. Fans lined up to get inside the arena more than four hours before tipoff, in a scene more closely resembling New Year’s Eve in Times Square than the usual leadup to a basketball game.
They were required to provide a ticket or pass to get past various checkpoints, along with going through a Transportation Security Administration-style magnetometer. Secret Service personnel and police were positioned at every corner and in large numbers. Daily commuters, tourists visiting Manhattan and fans were all confounded at various times as they tried to maneuver the security.
After traveling from his new home in Florida for the game, Knicks fan Greg Weldon said the main inconvenience faced so far has been the lack of information.
“We’ve asked so many cops, secret service, guys with machine guns, what to do, where should we go,” he said. “Nobody knows.”
Knicks coach Mike Brown and Spurs counterpart Mitch Johnson downplayed any concept of being inconvenienced by the closures and enhanced security because of Trump.
“There’s a lot going on, and I’d much rather be a part of it than not,” Johnson said.
With security stepped up, a watch party outside was canceled, and ticket-holders were not allowed to bring bags inside the Garden. Fans had gathered near the arena to watch games during this playoff run, during which the Knicks have won 13 games in a row to reach the final for the first time since 1999 and move two victories from their first NBA title since 1973.
“We are looking forward to bringing back watch parties for Game 4,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference Monday. "But I think New Yorkers are used to presidents coming to town, and they understand that that generally means lockdowns of areas and that’s what you’re going to see tonight at the Garden.”
This is the latest major sporting event Trump has attended during his time as president, and the security measures have created major hassles for fans.
Thousands of fans missed the start of last year’s U.S. Open men’s singles final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner because of lengthy security lines. Even though the U.S. Tennis Association pushed back the start of the match by a half-hour, many fans still couldn’t get in because added measures meant that they had to go through screening not only when they arrived at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center but again in front of the steps into Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Trump watched from a suite.
Federal law enforcement officials have been reexamining Trump’s security in light of three incidents in the past two years: a shooting at a 2024 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania; the discovery of a man armed with a rifle as Trump played golf in West Palm Beach, Florida, later that year; and the recent shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
Asked Sunday his thoughts on Trump attending, Knicks center Mitchell Robinson said: “Cool, I guess. We can still get out there and play (no matter) who’s here and who’s not.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other dignitaries were also at the game.
It was already hard enough for Knicks fans to get inside Madison Square Garden because of astronomical ticket prices. The get-in price for a ticket is higher than the average cost of monthly rent in New York, surging over $5,000. The best seats are tens of thousands of dollars. Mamdani said he bought his ticket, which he said was standing-room-only, for about $1,000 directly from Madison Square Garden.
The difficulty of seeing the game in-person has prompted fans to crowd bars, streets and watch parties all over the city. The watch party near the Garden has become a major event all through the playoffs, but with Trump attending, that event was moved a few blocks away outside the security perimeter, at Bryant Park.
“We improvise,” said Knicks guard Jose Alvarado, who is a New York native. "We're New Yorkers. We’re going to find a way to watch a game, and that’s what we’re doing.”
AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
U.S. Secret Service agents and a U.S. Marine brace against the downdraft as a support helicopter lands before Marine One with President Donald Trump aboard, at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport at Pier 6 in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump gestures during the National Anthem as he attends an NBA Finals playoff basketball game between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, with Kai Trump, left. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump gestures during the National Anthem as he attends an NBA Finals playoff basketball game between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, with Kai Trump, left, Knicks owner James Dolan and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, right. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
NYPD officers escort the motorcade of President Donald Trump outside of Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
New York Knicks fans wait in line to enter Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
Secret Service agents stand guard in front of Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
The motorcade of President Donald Trump arrives to Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
A Secret Service agent stands watch outside Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, as President Donald Trump is set to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
Security fencing is set up outside of Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, as President Donald Trump is set to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
Security is set up outside of Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, as President Donald Trump is set to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
FILE - President Donald Trump, center, attends the men's singles final at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Sept. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
A traveler tries to navigate the area as stringent security measures are set up outside of Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, as President Donald Trump is set to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
FILE - Donald Trump, right, talks to an unidentified man from the stands at Madison Square Garden during the New York Knicks game against the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 11, 2006, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)
President Donald Trump speaks at Custer Farms in Chippewa Falls, Wis., Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Glen Stubbe)
