The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will travel to the Motor City to play the Detroit Lions in the divisional round of the playoffs on Sunday. The two teams previously played in Week 6 of the 2023 regular season — it was a 20-6 win for the Lions, and Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield did not play particularly well. Mayfield completed 19 of 37 passes for 206 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 56.8. Probably his worst game of the season. He was frequently speeding up in the pocket whether he was hurried or not. He didn’t throw with good base fundamentals, and he threw off-platform more than he needed to, which led to a lot of incompletions against tight coverage.
Maybe that’s why at least one Lions defender might be a bit overconfident right now. Defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson recently had this to say about Tampa Bay’s passing game.
“If you give that Tampa group a good quarterback, that’s a good group — [Mike] Evans, [Chris] Godwin, [Russell] Gage, that’s a great group. I played against ‘em for a year. [Rams receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua) probably right rank there as one of the best groups, [as a] combo, with the running back. That’s hard. One-two punch with the running back, it’s going to give us a run for our money. Gotta be smarter than we normally are and be more quick and decisive with the calls.”
Well, that was certainly a veiled shot at Mayfield, and Mayfield didn’t waste much time forming a response. Gage, by the way, missed the entire regular season after suffering a torn patellar tendon during a joint practice with the New York Jets last August.
Baker Mayfield responds to Lions’ Chauncey Gardner-Johnson saying “if you gave that Tampa group a good quarterback” about Bucs receivers: pic.twitter.com/cZtkFn7xN9
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) January 17, 2024
“[Gardner-Johnson] must be going off preseason stuff that the media was talking about,” Mayfield said. “He didn’t play our first game so I’m excited to see him. I think he’s a really good player. He has been for a while. He’s been an impactful guy on every team he’s been on. … But yeah, he’s gotta do a little bit more film study.”
In Gage’s absence, sixth-round rookie Trey Palmer from Nebraska by way of LSU has become that important third man with Evans and Godwin, catching 40 passes on 68 targets for 440 yards and four touchdowns, including this -yard scorcher against the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round.
Broken tackles have been a theme for the Eagles defense against the Buccaneers 😬
This time Trey Palmer sheds James Bradberry after the catch and takes it 56 yards for a touchdown.
Tampa Bay leads 25-9
🎥@NFLpic.twitter.com/42xDAj6Vc1
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 16, 2024
Maybe the confusion has to do with Gardner-Johnson missing that Week 6 game — he suffered a torn pectoral muscle in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, and didn’t play again until Week 18 against the Minnesota Vikings. But that also does free up more time for film study…
