Jenna Laine, ESPN Staff Writer January 16, 2024, 3:12 a.m. ET
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- Jenna Laine covers the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for ESPN. She began covering the Bucs for ESPN in 2016 but has covered the team since 2009. Follow Jenna on Twitter: @JennaLaineESPN.
TAMPA – Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield battled rib and ankle injuries and threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 32-9 in the wild-card round, giving the Buccaneers their biggest playoff win since their 27th season -point Super Bowl XXXVII victory despite being 3.5 point underdogs at home on Monday night.
“It has something to do with whether you are an outsider or [on] “An away game where you just have your back against the wall and know that it's just your team against everyone else when you get counted out,” said Mayfield, who became the first Buccaneer to throw for 300 yards and three touchdowns in a postseason game – A feat that not even his predecessor, Tom Brady, managed in three years at Tampa. “It's always fun to be in this role. “Obviously I'm pretty comfortable in it, but our team has been fully committed to it all year.”
Additionally, he battled a rib injury suffered in a loss to the New Orleans Saints two weeks ago and an ankle injury suffered last week at Carolina. Mayfield flew in his personal physical therapist twice this week to help him deal with the injuries, which limited his practice time.
“He did it,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. “I mean, if you look at him during the week – he was limping around, he wasn't training, he was getting a little better every day – hopefully they didn't hit him too hard. I know they got some.” Shots at him and they got what, four sacks? So he came back from that, he stuck to his plan, he never batted an eyelid, and he made play after play after play, and that says a lot about him.”
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Despite losing six balls in the first half alone, including three from tight end Cade Otton, Mayfield provided a positive and encouraging energy on the sideline.
“He was sharp. I mean, he was sharp the whole game. … They dropped some passes, but he kept coming back, he kept going to them,” Bowles said.
“He’s always encouraging,” said Otton, who led the Bucs with 89 yards rushing. “I feel like as a team we just embrace his character. We're just always competitive, always have that fire. We see everything coming together, we're getting better and better at implementation. We never give up the fight. We will always compete just like him.”
After a 28-yard field goal on Bucs kicker Chase McLaughlin's first drive, Mayfield found rarely used wide receiver David Moore on a cross route for a 44-yard touchdown to take a 10-0 lead. McLaughlin followed with field goals of 54 and 48 yards in the second quarter. A safety by Anthony Nelson in the third quarter provided a much-needed jolt as Mayfield connected with rookie Trey Palmer for a 56-yard touchdown two plays later. He then found wide receiver Chris Godwin up the middle for a 23-yard score in the fourth.
“I love playing with Baker,” outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett said. “I knew Baker would be special for us once he won the job. I saw it when he first came into the league. He just had to be healthy and have a good chance. And I think that's what he got from us, and he's showing what he can do with it, and I love what I see from him.
Just moments after he jogged off the field at Raymond James Stadium with a triumphant “Let’s go!” Mayfield was asked to compare the win to his 48-37 playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers when he was with the Cleveland Browns in 2020.
Mayfield shrugged and paused. “Pretty good,” he said, before giving a mischievous grin and a smile.
Was it even sweeter after the trip he took last year? After being traded by the Browns in July 2022, cut by the Panthers in December of that year, and signing with the Los Angeles Rams for five games before the Bucs signed him to a one-year deal worth $4 million this offseason signed?
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t like to compare directly,” Mayfield said. “But yeah, obviously the ups and downs I've been through over the last few years are great… but we have our sights set on bigger goals, so on to the next one.”
The next game is away, in the divisional round against the Detroit Lions, with the Bucs once again the underdogs. The Lions are currently 6-point favorites after defeating the Los Angeles Rams 24-23 on Sunday night.
The Bucs lost to the Lions 20-6 when they hosted them in Week 6.
“We don’t really think or care about what the outsiders say,” Otton said. “We know the quality of the players we have in the locker room, the quality of the people, the coaches, the entire organization.”
“It’s a revenge trip,” added inside linebacker Devin White. “Everyone in this locker room believes in each other and that’s all that matters. People will talk on TV, they will make their predictions. But at the end of the day the ball has to be placed and we have to go out there and play. What people say doesn’t determine the outcome.”