Baker Mayfield Sails Away Victorious In Payback In Week 2

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went into Ford Stadium in Detroit with one thing on their minds: getting this win to establish themselves as contenders in the NFC Conference for a chance to win a championship. Last year’s loss to the Detroit Lions in the NFC playoffs is still fresh in the team’s minds. Quarterback Baker Mayfield, before the game on Sunday, called the game a “measuring stick,” according to the team’s website.

Last week against the Commanders, Mayfield had a spectacular game. He threw for four touchdowns and completed over 80% of his passes, with a QBR of 146. There were times against Washington where Mayfield seemed untouchable, eluding defenders and extending plays for significant gains. Could Baker Mayfield do the same against the Lions as he did against the Commanders?

Bucs and Baker Mayfield 2-0

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now 2-0, just like last year, and the team won the NFC South Division Title with the win against the Detroit Lions 20-16. They now feel their destiny to another Super Bowl Championship may seem closer, but there are still 16 more weeks of the season. Baker Mayfield couldn’t completely evade the Lions’ defense like he did last week against the Commanders. Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson sacked Mayfield a total of 4.5 times, with three of them in the first quarter.

Mayfield made plenty of connections to his now favorite target, Chris Godwin. As for Mike Evans, not so much; Evans only grabbed three receptions for 42 yards with no TDs. Baker Mayfield completed 63% of his passes with 12/19 and one touchdown; in the second half, Mayfield took matters into his own hands and scrambled for 34 yards, scoring a touchdown. Mayfield was determined to push his team into position to win the game. The Bucs QB had this to say after the game, according to Scott Smith,

For starters, having a bunch of guys out and a lot of guys stepping up in a huge way, and for it to come down to critical moments in a really tight ballgame and everybody stepping up is so big for everybody on this team. We stick together and obviously had a better outcome than the last time we were here. It’s a new season, there are a lot of games left but for us, building chemistry, building resiliency, the culture we want, this is a huge win for us.

Chris Godwin

For the second week in a row, Bucs receiver Chris Godwin provided the majority of yards for his team. Also, he has become Mayfield’s favorite target these past two games. Last week against the Commanders, Godwin brought in 8 receptions for 83 yards and one touchdown. This week with the Lions wasn’t much different; Godwin was sometimes open in space to gain extra yards after the catch. Baker Mayfield was able to hit Godwin on seven of the eight times he was targeted. The Bucs slot veteran had seven catches for 117 yards with one touchdown.

Unlike last week where Mayfield could pass to seven players, he only passed to five this week. Bucs rookie wide receiver Jalen McMillan had one reception on his two targets for 21 yards. The Lions defense really disrupted the offense of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Offensive lineman Luke Goedeke was out because of a concussion for this game.

Final Thought

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have some injury situations they need to attend to before making a plan for their next game against the Denver Broncos, who are 0-2 at home. Also, the run game still needs work, the Bucs was able to gain 112 yards last week but failed to break a 100 this week. The Bucs’ running backs, Rachaad White and rookie Bucky Irving, were not factors in this game. If the Bucs want the league to take the Super Bowl aspirations seriously, the run game cannot be what it used to be. Baker Mayfield is having a good start to the season, and hopefully, he will continue it next week.

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