Getty Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield responded to a shot from Detroit Lions safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
Veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson worked furiously in his rehab process to return for a Detroit Lions playoff run. But he may not have studied a lot of game film during his rehab.
At least that’s what Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield argued when he responded to Gardner-Johnson’s dig.
“I don’t think he’s really watched film because he mentioned Russell Gage,” Mayfield told reporters, via FOX Sports’ Greg Auman. “We love Russell, but Russell hasn’t played a snap all year for us.
“[Gardner-Johnson] must be going off the preseason stuff the media was talking about but, he didn’t play in 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 so he’s a good player but he’s got to do a little bit more film study.”
Baker Mayfield responds to Lions’ Chauncey Gardner-Johnson saying “if you gave that Tampa group a good quarterback” about Bucs receivers:
Mayfield’s message to Gardner-Johnson to study more film was in response to the safety’s original comment about the Tampa Bay passing game.
“If you give that Tampa group a good quarterback, that’s a great group,” Gardner-Johnson told reporters, via The Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett. “Evans, Godwin, (Russell) Gage, that’s a great group. I played against them for real.”
C.J. Gardner-Johnson Takes Shot at Baker Mayfield
While Gardner-Johnson sent props to the Buccaneers receiving corps, he dissed Mayfield.
For the most part, Mayfield has failed to live up to the expectations of being the No. 1 overall pick. The Cleveland Browns selected him first overall in 2018.
But after posting a 6-8 record with 13 interceptions in 2021, the Browns replaced Mayfield after ca blockbuster trade for Deshaun Watson.
Since then, Mayfield has played for three teams in two years. During his first season outside of Cleveland, he registered a combined 2-8 record with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams.
Therefore, Gardner-Johnson’s dig at Mayfield a year ago would have been accurate. It would have been rather on point even two months ago. Tampa Bay began the 2023 season with a 4-7 record.
Since then, though, Mayfield has led the Buccaneers to wins in six of their past seven games. That includes an impressive 32-9 dismantling of the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles during the NFC wild-card round.
In the last six regular season games, Mayfield completed 63.4% of his passes and tossed 11 touchdowns. He also averaged 7.8 yards per attempt with only 3 interceptions.
Against the Eagles, Mayfield averaged 9.4 yards per pass with 337 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Buccaneers Passing Offense Against Lions Secondary
When the Lions visited the Buccaneers in Week 6, Detroit did an excellent job against Mayfield and the Tampa Bay receivers.
The Lions held the Buccaneers to just 251 total yards, including 205 passing yards. Tampa Bay also scored a season-low 6 points in the contest.
Gardner-Johnson didn’t play in that game, so the Lions are, theoretically, more equipped to stop the Buccaneers in the rematch on January 21. But the Tampa Bay offense has come to life over the past two months.
The Buccaneers have averaged 343.1 yards per game over the past seven weeks. During that stretch, Tampa Bay has scored at least 29 points four times.
As they often have been the past few years, receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin have become a dangerous combination again. Together, they have averaged nearly a touchdown with more than 130 receiving yards per game the past seven weeks.
Both Evans and Godwin reached 1,000 receiving yards in 2023.
The Lions finished 27th in passing defense during 2023. Gardner-Johnson and the Lions could have their hands full in the divisional matchup even with the supposedly not good quarterback behind center for Tampa Bay.