Baker Mayfield is set for only the second meeting of his career against the Browns on Sunday, and Cleveland head coach Todd Monken isn’t treating the matchup like a sideshow.
On Wednesday, Monken had plenty of praise for the Buccaneers quarterback, describing him as a “highly intelligent” and “highly competitive” player. He also said Mayfield has a strong feel for the gameplan and scheme each week, and that his standard for teammates is exactly what coaches want to see from a player and a “human being.”
That kind of preparation has followed Mayfield through his NFL journey, including the last-minute call-up with the Los Angeles Rams that helped keep his career moving. Those late-game moments with the Rams eventually opened the door for him to land in Tampa, where he’s now the franchise’s highest-paid player of all time.
Mayfield enters the Week 2 trip with a little extra edge, too. The Buccaneers fell 33-27 to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, while the Browns were hammered 34-10 by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the biggest loss of the weekend. Even with both teams sitting at 0-1, Tampa Bay still has to expect a fight, especially with Deshaun Watson potentially playing for his starting job.
The quarterback storyline adds another layer. Mayfield was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by Cleveland, played out his rookie contract there, and then moved on when Watson arrived. This will be his first time facing the Browns as a Buccaneer, though he did play one game against them as a Carolina Panther.
There’s also the simple football issue of cleaning things up. Mayfield gave the ball away three times on fumbles against Cincinnati, and while he did a nice job extending plays and picking up yards on the move, those same scrambles came with too much risk on the turnover snaps.
For Tampa Bay, ball security looms large against a Browns offense that doesn’t bring the same firepower as Cincinnati. The Buccaneers’ defense looked solid against the Bengals’ skill players, and the formula this week is pretty clear: keep the mistakes down, let the defense hold up, and give the offense a chance to rebound. The Bucs’ offensive line, meanwhile, is coming into the game looking for a bounce-back effort as Mayfield tries to get Tampa Bay into the win column for the 2026-2027 season.
In Other News...
Bucs Loss Took On New Meaning After What Happened To Joe Burrow
The Buccaneers walked off the field in Week 1 with a loss to Cincinnati, but the game took on a different tone once Joe Burrows postgame soreness became part of the conversation. Burrow guided the Bengals to a 33-27 win over Tampa Bay, throwing for 254 yards and a touchdown while also taking off for 20 yards, even as he absorbed two significant hits along the way.
For Tampa Bay, the result now sits beside the bigger question of Burrows condition after back tightness and shoulder discomfort showed up in practice later in the week. Burrow has said he expects to play against Houston in Week 2, which only sharpens the sense that the Bucs were part of a hard-fought opener that may have left a lasting mark beyond the final score. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Evans Already Got What He Was Missing In Tampa
After 12 seasons in Tampa Bay, Mike Evans has quickly found the kind of role he was looking for with the San Francisco 49ers. In his first game with his new team, he was targeted often on third downs, caught six passes for 49 yards and a touchdown, and immediately looked like a player the offense intended to lean on rather than fit in around.
For Evans, the move was about chasing another Super Bowl while staying central to the game plan, and early signs suggest the 49ers are willing to make that happen. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has already praised the way Evans has fit and pointed to an offense built to play to his strengths, which makes the next stretch worth watching for anyone who followed his long run in Tampa. [Read more 🡒]
Baker Mayfield Just Gave The Bucs An Early Problem They Feared
The Buccaneers left Week 1 with a familiar kind of frustration: a competitive offense, a chance to win, and too many giveaways to survive. Tampa Bay fell 33-27 to the Bengals, undone by four fumbles in all, three of them coming from Baker Mayfield in a game where the Bucs still managed to move the ball without star wide receiver Mike Evans.
Todd Bowles didnt hide from the obvious issue afterward, making it clear the quarterback has to take better care of the football. Even so, the coach also pointed to the way the offense functioned and sounded encouraged by what it could become, which is why the turnovers sting so much more than a typical opener. The Bucs can live with a few early-season growing pains, but they know the margin for error gets thin fast when the ball keeps hitting the turf. [Read more 🡒]