Bucs QB Baker Mayfield accuses Bears of mimicking his cadence

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times SHARE COPY LINK Share CLOSE Twitter Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit Flipboard The Buccaneers had five false start penalties Sunday night . Quarterback Baker Mayfield didn’t think it was because of the crowd noise. The final false start, he claimed, was a result of Bears defenders mimicking his own cadence, which would be illegal. Down eight halfway through the fourth quarter, tackle Tristan Wirfs was whistled on second-and-three. “The last one, I know they’re barking out the cadence, which, you can’t do that,” he said Sunday night after the Bears’ 27-24 win. “Tough for the refs to call that because they’re not right there at the line of scrimmage. But yeah, I think they called that on Tristan, but you can’t do that.” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said his team was able to hear itself well inside Soldier Field. “It wasn’t a communication thing,” he said. “We’ve just got to hold up more.” The Bears have benefited from 23 pre-snap penalties by opposing offenses this year, per NFLPenalties.com, which is the fourth-most in the league. Related Bears defense saves the day vs. Buccaneers SHARE COPY LINK Share CLOSE Twitter Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit Flipboard Patrick Finley Chicago Sun-Times Chicago Bears reporter Next Up In Chicago Bears Bears QB Caleb Williams must use four-interception game vs. Buccaneers to keep growing Bears' Ben Johnson on trade deadline: 'We’ll see if there is another move or two to be made' Bears' Cairo Santos 'had to have my teammates’ backs' with game-winner Halas Intrigue podcast: Slopfest Bears defense saves the day vs. Buccaneers Bears' Jeffery Simmons: Fans' orange tribute was 'amazing'