Tampa Bay Is Alone Atop The NFC South, And Baker Mayfield Helped Get Them There? Really?

NEW ORLEANS - Tampa Bay was one of the popular picks to finish last in the weakling NFC South in 2023 with a win total in the lower single digits.

The Bucs finished 8-9 with the great Tom Brady last year at quarterback. That actually won the South, but Dallas ripped Tampa Bay, 31-14, in a Wild Card opener as Brady ended his career. So, surely Tampa Bay would be around 4-13 or 5-12 this season after it signed cast-off quarterback Baker Mayfield, and he won the job to replace Brady.

On Sunday in a Superdome that descended from electric to acoustic as the Bucs' 26-9 drubbing wore on, Mayfield helped put the Bucs all alone in first place in the NFC South at 3-1. They have already overachieved in some circles and have an open week to think about it. Tampa Bay is just a win away from being halfway to last season's win total. It next plays on Oct. 15 at home against Detroit (3-1). Atlanta lost 23-7 to Jacksonville in London to fall to 2-2 for a tie with the suddenly sad sack Saints. Carolina is last in the South at 0-4.

"So, right now, the narrative's going to flip," Mayfield said of being in first place. "So, we have to keep that mindset even more so. You can't change whether people are patting you on the back, or talking trash about you."

Tampa Bay Bucs' QB Baker Mayfield Off To Great Start

Mayfield completed 25 of 32 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns for a 116.9 rating Sunday. He stands eighth in the NFL through four games at 101.5 on 87-of-125 passing for 882 yards and seven touchdowns with two picks. The 24 points he helped produced marked the first time the Saints' defense allowed more than 20 over the last 12 games.

And Mayfield did not have top receiver Mike Evans for most of the game. Evans caught three passes for 40 yards before leaving in the first half with a hamstring injury. The Bake overcame that as he did the trash talk on arrival in Tampa Bay.

When Mayfield signed a one-year deal for $4 million last March, some said such a bargain was a sign that Bucs management was mailing it in this season. Mayfield was coming off a poor 2022 season. He had a passer rating of 74.4 with Carolina for the first seven games before getting shipped to the Los Angeles Rams, where he was slightly better at 86.4.

Mayfield entered this game with a 96 rating, and it's rising. So is this the real Mayfield? He sure is looking as if he is returning to his 2020 form with Cleveland when he had a 95.9 rating for the 11-5 Browns. He led that team to its first playoff appearance since 2002, and it won a playoff game for the first time since 1994.

"He's a fighter," said Tampa Bay wide receiver Chris Godwin, who caught eight passes for 114 yards. "He has a ton of resilience. He's been a great fit. He's a leader. And he loves ball. That permeates through the team. Happy to have him."

New Orleans Saints' Narrative Has Flipped

Meanwhile, the narrative is definitely flipping the other way in New Orleans after its second straight loss, which has included six straight quarters without a touchdown.

The Saints got quarterback Derek Carr back early from a shoulder sprain just last week, and he started in somewhat of a surprise. Superstar running back Alvin Kamara also played his first game after a three-game suspension. But neither mattered as the Saints managed a pitiful 197 yards against a good Bucs defense that New Orleans made look like the 1985 Chicago Bears.

"It didn't matter because the scheme's the scheme," Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said when asked if he spent much time worrying if Carr or backup Jameis Winston would start. "Kind of knew what the offense was with Kamara coming back."

And he probably knew that scheme and/or offense is bad. Or the offensive line is bad. It allowed three more sacks for 14 for the season. Carr may have been rusty coming off the shoulder injury, but he sure didn't have it. He significantly underthrew a wide open Chris Olave streaking deep for what could've been six.

New Orleans didn't score a touchdown in a game for the first time since a 13-0 loss to San Francisco last season. The Saints lost two fumbles, including one by Carr, to go to five turnovers on the season. That's one more than their touchdown total.

Baker Mayfield Praises Tampa Bay's Defense

"I can't say enough about our defense," Mayfield said. "Nine points against that offense. That's incredible."

Not really. The Saints are the only team in the NFL not to score more than 20 points this season.

The dome exploded when Carr was announced as the starter. That had looked doubtful as recently as Thursday. He did complete 23 of 37 passes, but for just 127 yards. That's only 3.4 yards an attempt for a 68.2 passer rating. Kamara rushed for only 51 yards on 11 carries. He caught 13 passes, but for just 33 yards - 2.5 yards a catch.

Carr signed for $150 million over four years. His quarterback rating stands at 80.1 for No. 26 in the NFL. Mayfield is looking like the steal of the 2023 free agency season. Funny, Saints fans led the ridicule charge after Tampa Bay signed Mayfield and their team got Carr.

Mayfield entered Buccaneer Nation with much less fanfare than Carr. And he correctly kept quiet. No talk of the issues on his former teams. No talk of his Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma in 2017 or being the first pick of the 2018 draft by Cleveland.

"He didn't say a lot," Godwin said. "He just came in and tried to fill the void and find his place. He didn't come in and say, 'I'm the guy.'"

But so far, he is. And he's still not saying it's him.

"We've known all along what we have in this building," Mayfield said. "Been saying it since the off-season."

Tampa Bay Has A Tough Team And a Tough QB In Mayfield

And Bowles seems to know what he has in Mayfield.

"He made some throws - long ones and short ones today," he said. "Stayed away from sacks. He played an excellent ballgame. You know, Bake's tough. He fits in. He understands the offense very well. The guys love to play for him. And he works for us."

First place works.

"It's only the first quarter of the season," Bowles said. "It's better to be 3-1 than 1-3. But we're morphing into kind of a physical, tough team that's hard to beat."