Watch: Hilarious Mayfield blunder leads to 49ers INT

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) elects to run against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Hilarious Baker Mayfield blunder leads to 49ers’ NFL-leading 14th INT

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 11/20/23

No defense in the NFL has more interceptions than the San Francisco 49ers.

But the way the team secured its league-leading 14th pick of the season was a combination of perfect timing and an unfortunate blooper at the hands of Baker Mayfield.

On a third-and-6 with 3:38 left in the game from the 49ers 9-yard line, Mayfield dropped back and tried to hit receiver Chris Godwin in stride after breaking back toward the middle of the field on a snag route.

Unfortunately for Mayfield, he found the helmet of 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw instead, causing the ball to bounce in the air where it was snagged by safety Ji’Ayir Brown in the end zone, halting Tampa’s best scoring threat since the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Intercepted off the helmet!

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It marked the second straight game that Mayfield was picked off. He’s now thrown an interception in six of his last eight games.

It was also the first career interception for Brown, who’s played in just four games this season after being drafted in the third round of the 2023 draft out of Penn State. With 14 interceptions, the 49ers now have two more than the next-closest team, the Cincinnati Bengals.

San Francisco has four players — Fred Warner (three), Talanoa Hufanga (three), Charvarius Ward (two) and Deommodore Lenoir (two) — with multiple interceptions and eight players with at least one.

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