Baker Mayfield is the talk of the NFL, as he has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 4-1 right now, and looked at as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
He is putting up huge numbers, as he has thrown for 1,283 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception. He is top-five in both yards and touchdowns, and is also looked at as one of the favorites to win the MVP.
Early in his career, Mayfield was looked at by some NFL analysts as ‘immature’ and ‘cocky’. There wasn’t a more anti-Baker NFL analyst than Colin Cowherd, who didn’t like him for his personality as well as ‘wearing a backwards hat’.
Cowherd and NFL analysts all across the league now look at him as a winner who is tough. Mayfield knows a player can’t always control the narrative around them, but they can control their response and how they play.
“Yeah, I told you guys, I try and not get too high or get too low, which is something I was not doing early on in my career,” Mayfield told reporters. “Early on in my career, it was looked at as cocky and immature. Now, it’s moxie; he’s a dog. Same s*** different day. Just as long as you play well, they change the narrative. You just have to be yourself.”
This questions come after a video went viral where Mayfield was seeing in an exchange with a Seahawks fan where both parties involved were talking trash.
As the reporter asking him mentioned, Mayfield was able to get the last word as the Buccaneers won the game, as he went 29-of-33 for 379 yards and two touchdowns. He became the first quarterback ever in a regular season game to throw for at least 375 yards with less than five incompletions. Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner both did that in a playoff game.
One other thing that both of those guys did is win a Super Bowl and win MVP, two things that Mayfield is looking to do this season.
Through five games, the Buccaneers look the part of a team that can win it all. Rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka is off to one of the best starts for a rookie receiver, as he has 25 catches for 445 yards and five touchdowns in the first five games.
He was forced into a bigger role as Mike Evans suffered an injury, while Chris Godwin is just coming back from an injury.
However, what makes this team so tough to beat is the chip that it plays with. A huge part of that chip comes from the leadership and motivation of their quarterback. To Mayfield’s credit, he has never changed who he is as a player or person during his career, when it would have been easy to do just that.
Now, he is reaping the benefits of that decision, and he will look to continue that in Week 6 as the Buccaneers take on the San Francisco 49ers.
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