TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield took the blame for a lost fumble in the fourth quarter of Tampa Bay’s 23-20 wild-card loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday night, saying the loss “will weigh on me.” He is proud of his team’s performance this season.

The fumble came on a botched jet sweep by rookie wide receiver Jalen McMillan. Mayfield lost control of the ball as McMillan passed him and tried to jump on it. Instead, it was recovered by Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner at the Tampa Bay 13.

“That comes to mind again, it’s just the right timing,” Mayfield said. “First time this year it’s happened. Obviously the timing wasn’t great because we were supported. The defense had done a great job getting us the ball, another stop in the fourth and yeah, unfortunate, but that suits me.”

The play took place on first-and-10 at the Tampa Bay 15 with 11:58 left in regulation. Washington had made it to Tampa Bay’s 1-yard line on the previous drive, but Bucs defensive lineman Calijah Kancey tackled running back Brian Robinson for a loss of 2 yards and the defense forced three incompletions for a turnover on downs.

On the Commanders’ ensuing drive after Mayfield’s fumble, quarterback Jayden Daniels connected with second-team All-Pro wide receiver Terry McLaurin for a 5-yard touchdown, with the extra point making it 20-17. The Bucs tied it on a 32-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin with 4:45 left, but the defense couldn’t hold. Commanders kicker Zane Gonzalez’s 37-yard field goal bounced off the right upright and went in.

“(It was) me and Baker not seeing eye to eye,” said McMillan, who caught two of four targets for 41 yards. “Things like this happen. I mean – shoot – mistakes happen.”

It was Mayfield’s third loss of the season, all coming after Week 12. It was also the Bucs’ fourth walk-off loss.

“It’s heartbreaking,” McMillan said. “Just losing like that – I don’t like losing like that.”

When asked what he would say about Mayfield, coach Todd Bowles said there was nothing to say and praised Mayfield for a season that often included risk-taking plays outside of the pocket that the 6-foot-10 taller thrived on Mayfield put in damage is the way.

“He’s your bell cow. Your bell cow takes a shot and if something goes wrong, you have to live with it,” Bowles said. “They are human beings. We’re going to make mistakes and he got us here – without Baker we wouldn’t even be here.”

Mayfield surpassed his career-best 28 touchdowns last year with 41 this regular season – tied with MVP candidate Lamar Jackson for the second-most touchdowns in the NFL. His completion percentage also rose from 64% to 71%, and that was without then-NFL touchdown and catches leader Chris Godwin, who missed seven games with a season-ending injury, and without the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, Mike Evans, for four games.

But those personal milestones meant little to Mayfield, even after he revived his career and found a permanent home in Tampa after stints with three different teams.

“It’s never just about one person and that’s what this team embodies,” Mayfield said. “That’s the most important thing. They can be proud that we grew together, that the boys helped each other and made progress. It’s never about one person. And unfortunately they made a few mistakes today that hurt the team.” “

Mayfield said he was proud of the way his team fought. After a four-game losing streak, the Bucs won six of their last seven games, finishing the regular season 10-7 and winning the NFC South again (it was Mayfield’s second straight NFC South title and the fourth for the Bucs). But they couldn’t match last season’s 32-19 wild-card win over the Philadelphia Eagles as they had hoped to advance past the divisional round, where they lost to the Detroit Lions a year ago.

The Bucs opened this season with a 37-20 win over the Commanders in Week 1 and then avenged their playoff loss in Detroit with a 20-16 victory. Then came a 33-16 win over the Eagles in Week 4. But the effort wasn’t enough on Sunday night and there will be no trip to Philadelphia.

“It’s disappointing overall because I believe in this team,” Mayfield said. “I think we have the talent, the coaching staff and everyone around us to be able to go far, but looking back we’re trying to take a step back, overall – this group struggled, there were a lot of guys stepping up “A lot of people have taken on big roles throughout the year and there’s a lot to be proud of.”

McMillan was one of them. One of two third-round picks by the Bucs, he and Mayfield scored seven touchdowns in the final five games of the regular season, tying him with Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase for the most touchdowns in the NFL during that span.

“It’s hard to see at the moment, but there are a lot of young people who will be in this squad next year who have had to take a big step. That should boost these guys’ confidence knowing who they are. “As players and as men in tough situations, stepping up like they did is something to be proud of,” Mayfield said. “It just leads back to us being disappointing and not making plays when we needed it most.”

Asked if he would show the same level of kindness and encouragement to himself, Mayfield said, “Probably not. Just a few stupid things today that cost the team. This will bother me for a while.”