Baker Mayfield, Buccaneers slice up Chargers defense in second half and roll

When the SoFi Stadium lights went dark to begin a hype video in the middle of the fourth quarter, hundreds of fans streamed toward the exits. The lights were out on a 40-17 Chargers loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Chargers lost ground in a tight AFC wild-card race Sunday, giving up 27 unanswered points in the second half to fall into seventh seed in the AFC playoff standings.

Entering Week 15 as one of three 8-5 teams in playoff position, the Chargers (8-6) gave up a season-high in yards (506) and points to fall behind the Baltimore Ravens and the Denver Broncos in the playoff standings.

After losing consecutive games for just the second time this season, the Chargers have to regroup quickly for a critical AFC West matchup against the Broncos on Thursday at SoFi Stadium.

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Quarterback Justin Herbert threw for two touchdowns and 195 yards, but had a pass intercepted for the first time since Week 2. His streak of passes attempted without an interception ended at 357, one shy of tying Tom Brady for the fourth-longest streak in NFL history.

But any personal record was the least of Herbert’s concerns when Tampa Bay cornerback Jamel Dean hauled in the quarterback’s errant pass.

The Buccaneers (8-6) turned Herbert’s miscue into a 35-yard touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield to Mike Evans four plays later to jump ahead 30-17 with 1:36 remaining in the third quarter.

Tampa Bay erased a four-point halftime deficit, caused in part by two second-quarter turnovers, by scoring 17 points on three consecutive drives in the third quarter.

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Evans had nine catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns while Mayfield shook off a second-half interception to finish with 288 yards passing and four touchdowns. He completed 22 of 27 pass attempts against the defense that entered the game allowing a league-best 15.9 points per game.

With 117 yards rushing by running back Bucky Irving, the Buccaneers flexed their balanced offense compared to the Chargers’ running game that mustered just 32 yards on the ground.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.