Naysayers waiting on the eventual Mayfield Collapse, are they wrong?

Is it just a matter of time?

By now, any diehard fan could spit out the Baker Mayfield story, line by line. Each stop on his journey wound up with Mayfield shown the door. This time was a little different in the latest installment of the Baker Mayfield Saga. This Tampa stop was as close to his Cleveland stop as he could have possibly found. He was brought in to be “The Man” in Cleveland, and, as odd as it sounds, in Tampa as well. His stints at Carolina and L.A. I feel we’re more of the come on in, let’s see what you can do variety. I don’t think either of those teams believed that had Mayfield caught on, he wouldn’t have been retained the following season. Mayfield accepted the one-year contract One Buc offered, and why not? There wasn’t anywhere else he would have wanted to be. The quarterback position was wide open after Tom Brady finally stuck to the plan and retired for real.

Stats in L.A./Tampa

Everyone who wanted Mayfield to be the man here gushed about his stats with the Rams last season. I’m sorry, but I’m not feeling it. Mayfield started 4 games while holding down the fort for Matt Stafford. He was 1-3 with four touchdowns and two interceptions, and he fumbled three times, losing one. Where is the grand play that so many speak of? Fast-forward to this season with the Buccaneers, and a quick look at what Mayfield has done so far after two games here. In week one, Mayfield got off to a slow start but made up for it later in the game, scoring two touchdowns with no picks to upset the home team, the Vikings. So into town, then came the Bears. Mayfield never skipped a beat, going 26 of 34 for 317 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers look pretty good. What’s more impressive is that while under pressure, according to ESPN’s Next Generation Stats, Mayfield was 14 of 17 for 233 yards. Those are the numbers of a confident leader under center. Granted, the Bears are average on a good day, and the Vikings aren’t scaring anyone, either. It is nice to have consecutive wins over our former Norris Division foes. It’s clear that Dave Canales’ offense suits Baker Mayfield like a 3-piece. Sooner or later, the Bucs will have a let-down and lose to a team they should have beaten. The Mayfield collapse, as seen before, may not ever show its face. This could really be his chance to turn it all around, and so far, he is bathing in it with a smile.

Recess is over; Philly looms on Monday Night

Okay, everybody in, the whistle blew, play-time is over. Nothing can bring you back to reality like an Eagles team on Monday Night’s National Stage. Philadelphia is obviously a premier player in the big NFL picture. The Bucs could easily get stomped with a nationwide audience tuning in. Then again, there is a feeling within Tampa Bay fans that their Bucs are going to be very much in the game and could pull out the win. There are two very big reasons why. The first is the Bucs Defense. The second is Baker Mayfield, and that is saying, oh so very much to a team that just said farewell to Tom Brady. I think it’s easy to say as well that the 2023 version of the Buccaneers looks superior to the 2022 one with Brady at the helm. This Eagles game will tell us so much as to where the team truly stands. It’s a test to see what the Bucs really are all about this season. That’s a question we all want an answer to: How good can Mayfield be? So far, so good. Tune in for the answer. Go Bucs!!