Baker Mayfield, Bucs beat Eagles, score with Tom Brady

TAMPA — He studied the Philadelphia Eagles defense in the dark, the only light coming from the monitor on his Microsoft Surface computer. His wife, Emily, and his 5-month-old daughter, Kova Jade, lay sleeping next to him in a hotel room at the Renaissance International Plaza Hotel.

Baker Mayfield had to evacuate his home in the Davis Islands later this week to escape the storm surge caused by Hurricane Helene.

“Definitely a dark hotel room with a laptop,” Mayfield said. “It’s not a very fun place if you need to be quiet, so it is what it is.”

The grim working conditions were only a minor inconvenience as Mayfield and the Bucs powered up the Eagles’ defense in a 33-16 victory at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.

Mayfield passed for 347 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score.

A week after a lackluster loss to the Broncos, he and the Bucs’ offense were in high form, with Mayfield catching 12 of his first 13 passes and helping his team build a 24-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

Of course the win was the biggest thing, but damn if it didn’t look like Mayfield had something else to prove on Sunday.

Not to the Eagles. To Tom Brady.

The only thing as interesting as the Bucs’ performance was the fact that the former Tampa Bay quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl champion referred to the game as “NFL on Fox.”

Of course, the two exchanged pleasantries on the field before the game. But Brady was also willing to push back on comments Mayfield made on a recent podcast, saying Bucs players were “stressed” playing with Brady.

“I thought it would be stressful not having Super Bowl rings,” Brady said as Mayfield’s first-half comment was shown on a graphic. “So there was a champion mentality that I adopted every day at work. This wasn’t a daycare center; If I wanted to have fun, I would take my kids to Disneyland.”

Poke the GOAT and you might get the horns.

Following Brady can’t be easy. Just ask Mac Jones how he fared in New England.

But in many ways, Mayfield was the perfect replacement for Brady in Tampa Bay, with his authentic, carefree style of play and his heavy lifting on his shoulder.

“I think a lot of it was taken out of context,” Mayfield said after the game. “None of it was personal in any way. That’s exactly what he asked of the guys and that’s the aura of Tom Brady and that’s what he did to bring a championship here. Nothing personal.

“I spoke to him before the game. He’s obviously happy for me. He knows the boys. He knows how much I love throwing to Mike (Evans) and Chris (Godwin) because he got to do the same thing. It’s fun to be able to talk to a man like that about the same experience.”

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After being targeted just three times against the Broncos last week, Evans posted a game-high eight catches on 14 targets and 94 receiving yards. He also caught a 2-yard touchdown pass. The tone was set from the first play, an 8-yard completion to Evans on a simple hitch route.

Mayfield distributed the football to nine different receivers and initiated a 15-yard TD pass to Trey Palmer.

“He made some great plays,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. “I mean, the ball he threw to Trey was right there. The DB reported on this in detail. … But it was a damn good catch and a damn good throw. He was hot all day. He was on point.”

The Eagles were missing receivers DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown and tackle Lane Johnson. That appeared to make up for the Bucs’ loss of Antoine Winfield Jr., defensive lineman Calijah Kancey and tackle Luke Goedeke. Defensive tackle Vita Vea returned from an MCL sprain to score the first of six sacks from Jalen Hurts.

What was the difference in the 26-7 loss to the Broncos?

“I take responsibility for what we caught on tape last week,” Mayfield said. “Like I said, that wasn’t the type of Bucs football we caught on tape last week. So, own it and correct it. …Everyone owned it. This is a responsible team.”

Here’s the thing: No one can ever be Brady. But the Super Bowl 55 team was loaded with talent.

Mayfield, the consummate grinder who plays with reckless abandon for his body, is what this Bucs team needs at quarterback.

Tackle Tristan Wirfs admitted he was afraid of Brady as a 20-year-old rookie.

“I don’t think Tom put any pressure on the guys,” Wirfs said. “I think people around him were just stressed out because he’s Tom Brady. I’m often asked what the difference is between Tom and Baker, and they are two completely different people. You can’t compare them. They are both great personalities and great football players.

“I’m incredibly lucky to have played with both of them now. I was 21 years old and Tom was 42. I was very afraid of him. I would do anything not to make him angry.”

Brady then named Mayfield his player of the game. During the broadcast, he made it clear that he “wasn’t apologizing” for the way he drove the Bucs.

He then gave Mayfield some advice before leaving the television booth.

“Keep putting some pressure on these guys to get better,” Brady said. “I know what you are capable of. Keep going out there, grinding and getting it done.”

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