In his first game since signing a massive contract extension after prolonged negotiations that were honestly seemingly going nowhere, Baker Mayfield flopped as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise quarterback, turning the ball over with multiple untimely fumbles while being outplayed by Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in a 33-27 Week 1 loss against a team the Bucs, quite frankly, should be beating if they want to be a playoff side in 2026.
Mayfield, though, has set himself up for a big bounce back game against a much easier AFC North foe in his former employers, the Cleveland Browns. Once hailed as the Browns savior, the former No. 1 overall pick was all over the city of Cleveland in Progressive commercials and on posters, but they moved on from him just as quickly as they put him on a pedestal.
Motivated by grudges and personal vendettas more than anyone else in the NFL, Mayfield is desperate to make a statement against the Browns this Sunday, especially after Burrow and the Bengals humbled him in Week 1.
Zac Robinson already looks like an upgrade for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New Buccaneers offensive coordinator Zac Robinson could not get off to a winning start against Cincinnati, but unlike with his predecessor Josh Grizzard, Bucs fans had a much harder time picking holes in his game plan. Instead, the fault was on Baker Mayfield for the turnovers, Cade Otton for the drops, and the offensive line for not living up to their billing last Sunday.
Robinson schemed his players open and honestly did a good job calling the offense. Now, his task will be working with Mayfield to clean up the costly mistakes and play within the structure of the scheme. Z-Rob needs to get his quarterback to play much more composed than he has over the last two seasons for the Buccaneers. Mayfield needs to take care of the football, stay in the pocket, and move the chains for his team.
He has the perfect opportunity to break out against a Browns defense that does not look half as good as it did last season. Myles Garrett being gone or not, the Browns were poor at all levels, failing to get any pressure on Trevor Lawrence, who totally shredded up Cleveland in another statement game for former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen.
Zac Robinson will want to match Coen blow for blow, and Mayfield is also fueled personally against Cleveland and will want nothing more than to go off. The biggest task for Mayfield this season is being a better game manager, and that is going to start with Cleveland; there is no reason why he should have any turnovers against this Browns team.
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