Tom Brady's LFG Player of the Game Baker Mayfield shows Bucs are in good hands at QB

TAMPA, Fla. – With Tom Brady back at Raymond James Stadium for the first time since his retirement, all eyes were on his replacement, Baker Mayfield, as he tried to get the Bucs back on track after a humiliating loss to the Broncos last week.

Mayfield stepped up from the start, going 12-for-13 for 138 yards and touchdown passes on Tampa Bay's first two drives, and the Bucs never looked back after a 33-16 win over the Eagles. When he was done, Mayfield had 347 passing yards, two touchdowns and one rushing – and the Bucs were alone atop the NFC South standings with a strong 3-1 start.

In the last 30 years, there have only been four Bucs home wins in which the quarterback had that many yards, multiple touchdowns and no interceptions. The list includes Mayfield's performance on Sunday and three games from Brady, who gave Mayfield the LFG Player of the Game award.

Four hours earlier, the two quarterbacks spent a moment in the end zone chatting before the game.

“He’s obviously happy for me and knows the guys,” Mayfield said of their conversation. “He knows how much I enjoy 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 guy like that about the same experiences.”

Tom Brady speaks with Bucs QB Baker Mayfield before Sunday's game. Mayfield threw for 347 yards and two TDs, earning Brady LFG Player of the Game honors. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

(Related: As Tom Brady returns to Tampa, Mike Evans remembers their special connection)

Mayfield connected with Evans for a 2-yard touchdown on that first drive, and nearly half of his passes went to his top two receivers, who finished the game with 14 catches for 163 yards and the touchdown. The strong start not only set the tone for the game, but it also helped the Bucs forget about all the problems they had on the same field a week earlier in the loss to Denver.

“We just really wanted to get that taste out of our mouths,” Mayfield said. “It started quickly because the boys were just locked in. We came out with a 'hair on fire' mentality. Everyone was adamant about what the plan was and that's why we implemented it so quickly, but it has to be every week.”

The last time the Bucs scored a touchdown on the opening drive was with Brady at QB in 2022. They played all of last season, winning a division title and even a playoff game, without once reaching the end zone on an opening drive. And facing an Eagles defense that had shut down the Saints a week earlier, coming out and setting the tone for the game was crucial.

Last week, Evans was limited to two catches on three targets by the Broncos' Patrick Surtain. So Mayfield went his way on the first play and threw the ball nine times in ten plays, converting two third downs. At the 2-yard line he pulled off a classic of the Brady years, a corner kick to Evans, which he took for the opening score.

“Mike gets going, everything just kind of flows from there,” coach Todd Bowles said of signing him to get going early. “They start paying attention to Mike, which opens up a lot of other possibilities.”

Most of those opportunities involved Mayfield on Sunday, and while the Bucs jumped out to a 24-0 lead, there were times when the game seemed to slip away. Saquon Barkley rushed 59 yards on the first play of the second half, setting up a touchdown and making it a 10-point game. A three-pointer by Tampa Bay's offense would have given the Eagles more momentum.

But Mayfield responded with perhaps his best performance of the game. On third-and-seven play, he scrambled left for a 10-yard gain to move the chains. He quickly faced a third-and-11, again dodged pressure and found Godwin for a 15-yard gain into Eagles territory. A throw to Evans put the Bucs at the 7, and rookie running back Bucky Irving capped the drive with his first career touchdown. The Eagles wouldn't score again.

“That was a big push that stopped the momentum they had and kept the lead at what it was,” Mayfield said. “For us to go back out there and make it happen… I can’t say enough about the entire team. That was one of the hottest games I've ever played, and just for everyone to be so involved, we were really, really dialed in, and to respond like that is huge.

It was a performance worthy of the LFG trophy. Mayfield's secret takeaways about the hardware: It's a lot heavier than you might expect, and players aren't allowed to take it off the field because the name and date are engraved on the trophy and then mailed to the winner so they can can keep it for posterity.

Tom Brady's LFG Player of the Game: Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield | Week 4 DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE

It was a special game for Brady's old teammates, who got to see him again and then reminisce about a win they had when he was still their teammate. Linebacker Lavonte David, who had a crucial strip sack on Jalen Hurts to force a fumble and thwart another Eagles drive, said the opportunity to visit with Brady before the game was just another highlight of a memorable day been.

“It was great to see Tom again,” said David. “It looked like he was happy doing what he was doing – I love that about him. “Obviously Tom is always welcome in Tampa, especially because of what he brought to this city, what he brought to this organization and what he brought to me.” A football player. Just seeing him do well, that was definitely great to see.

Greg Auman is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade reporting on it privateer for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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