No one expected Baker Mayfield and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers to have an opportunity for a 3-0 record heading into Monday Night Football against the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Mayfield spent the summer battling with Kyle Trask for the right to replace all-time great Tom Brady as the Buccaneers’ QB1. For the journeyman, it was one final chance to prove that he can be a starter at this level after struggles with the Cleveland Browns and division-rival Carolina Panthers over the years.
“He’s been through a lot in five years. He’s been through ups and downs,” Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said of Mayfield. “He knows it’s not about him, it’s about the team.”
The former No. 1 pick has come up clutch when it mattered the most for Tampa Bay over the first two weeks of the season. That included a game-winning drive to dispose of the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 and helping the Bucs to a 10-point win last week against the Chicago Bears.
Despite of all this, there is widespread skepticism that the Bucs can make it a game at home against Philadelphia. Their two wins have come against opponents in the Vikings and Bears who are a combined 0-6 on the season. Philadelphia is going to be a completely different monster.
“[It is a] very talented team, very well-coached,” Bowles told reporters of the Eagles. “Like you said, they were in the Super Bowl last year. We’ve been in that situation. They’ve got talent at every level on both sides of the ball.”
But the Buccaneers have a lot going for them heading into this primetime matchup. Here’s why the team can pull off that statement win.
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Baker Mayfield with the clutch gene this season
Mayfield has been good throughout the first two games (69% completion, 490 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, 104.4 QB rating). Though, it’s been more about the quarterback’s success on third down.
Mayfield boasts a 132.1 passer rating with an 86.3% completion rate on third downs through two games. He’s also averaging nearly nine yards per attempt on that all-important down.
“You talk about third downs – obviously you want to get past the third-down marker – but [you want to give] your guys a chance to catch the ball in space and break tackles,” Mayfield said ahead of Week 3. “We have a great skill group – really talented guys. My job is to distribute the ball to those guys and let them do all the work.”
Mayfield has done just that, making sweet music with star wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. He has a 146.8 QB rating when targeting Evans through two games. As for Godwin, he’s tallied a 71.4% catch rate when targeted.
“He made so many great plays for us with his legs, arm — just being super competitive,” Evans told reporters.
Outside of his on-field performance, it sure does seem as if Mayfield has earned respect and admiration from his new teammates. Given how the quarterback’s tenure ended in Cleveland, this is no small feat.
Related: Find out where Baker Mayfield ranks among NFL’s 32 starting QBs
Tampa Bay Buccaneers can compete in the trenches
Not many teams can say this when going up against a Philadelphia Eagles squad that racked up a whopping 70 sacks a season ago. The first two weeks of this season might not be an outlier for Monday night’s opponents in Tampa.
Philadelphia has recorded just four sacks despite getting to the quarterback for 17 hits through two games. Star linemen Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham and Haason Reddick have all failed to get to the quarterback for a sack.
On the other side, Tampa Bay has yielded just one sack and three hits of Mayfield on the campaign. Led by star left tackle Tristan Wirfs, this unit continues to succeed.
As for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, he’s already been sacked seven times through two games. He’s also been hit nine times. It’s not something the mobile Hurts is accustomed to. This doesn’t even take into account a solid Buccaneers defensive front that has gotten to quarterbacks for eight sacks in two games.
Star pass rusher Shaq Barrett will be up against it with Eagles Pro Bowler Lane Johnson on the other side of the line. Heck, Wirfs delved into that ahead of Monday night, saying, “He has been so consistent and so dominant in pass protection.”
If Barrett can join the likes of Vita Vea and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka in putting consistent pressure on Hurts, it will help make the quarterback a bit more uncomfortable. In turn, it would enable the secondary to step up against the elite receiver tandems of DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown in Philadelphia. This would be no small thing with starting cornerback Carlton Davis questionable (toe).
In short, Mayfield and the Bucs have a real opportunity to prove themselves Monday night against Philadelphia. Everything would have to work in their favor in order to come out on top. But we’ve already seen stranger things during NFL Week 3. Just ask the Dallas Cowboys.