What a day it was for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On Sunday, the Buccaneers continued their hot start to the season after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 30-19 to improve to 5-1. Quarterback Baker Mayfield continued his strong year, completing 17-of-23 pass attempts for 256 yards and two touchdowns. One of those touchdown passes was to rookie Tez Johnson, who broke away from multiple 49ers defensive backs for a 45-yard score. This was Johnson's first touchdown catch of his career.
After the game, Johnson was asked about his first touchdown catch. Johnson said he heard the "MVP" chants from Buccaneers fans at Raymond James Stadium and thought they were directed at him. But Johnson said he asked teammate Sterling Shepard if they were chanting "MVP." Shepard said yes, but that the chants were for Mayfield, not him.
"I'm like 'Shep, they're chanting MVP?' And he was like 'yeah.' I was like 'I didn't do nothing this year.' Then he was like 'they're talking about Baker, Tez,'"
Tez Johnson hilariously thought Buccaneers fans' 'MVP' chants directed at Baker Mayfield were for him
A hilarious story by Johnson, who was taken aback by the chants from Buccaneers fans. The reality is it was directed towards Mayfield, who's MVP play has helped the Buccaneers pick up five wins early this season, four of which were on game-winning drives at the end of games.
Credit to Johnson for stepping up when he did. The team was without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin entering the game. But then, star rookie Emeka Egbuka exited the contest due to a hamstring injury. Yet, Mayfield was still able to lead the team to a victory.
Let's not forget Mayfield's incredible first-down run on third-and-14 to set up Johnson's touchdown catch.
This season, Mayfield has thrown for 1,539 yards, 12 touchdowns, and one interception on a 66.2 completion percentage. Mayfield has also run for 158 yards on 22 carries.
Sure, Buccaneers fans would chant "MVP" towards Mayfield, but the reality of the situation is that the quarterback should have a legitimate chance to win the award if he keeps his play up for the remainder of the season and continues to lead Tampa Bay to wins.