Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still licking their wounds after falling to the Detroit Lions, but they can't spend much more time recovering because a divisional opponent awaits them in New Orleans.
The quarterback knows what to expect when he and his swashbuckling teammates land in the Big Easy on Sunday -- and he's not afraid to let the public know how much he dislikes their rival.
"It has not exactly been clean play from their part when we play them," Mayfield said of the Saints on Wednesday. "It is a physical game; it is what it is. You expect it [from a] division rival. ... Yeah, not much else to say besides for the fact that I do not like them."
After losing Mike Evans to a broken collarbone, the challenges will only increase in difficulty for Mayfield and Co. It's nothing he hasn't already experienced in this successful yet trying 2025 season.
Mayfield will take the field with rookie Emeka Egbuka filling the top receiver role and will need to figure out how to maximize the rest of his receiving corps, which still isn't trending toward welcoming the return of Chris Godwin (fibula), who sat out of Wednesday's practice. The same is true for running back Bucky Irving (foot, shoulder), although guard Ben Bredeson (shoulder) did participate in limited fashion.
For Mayfield, the absences are just a fact of life in the NFL.
"Until we just lost, nobody was complaining or moaning about it," Mayfield said. "It is the nature of the game. You know you have a game every week until your bye, so you figure it out and move on. You do not have to have an extra speech, guys know they have to get ready -- physically as well as you possibly can to play and go from there."
Because they played Monday night, the Buccaneers (5-2) have one fewer day to rest, heal and prepare for their meeting with New Orleans (1-6). Fortunately, the Saints are also picking themselves up off the mat after falling to the Chicago Bears in a turnover-filled defeat in the Windy City.
Mayfield knows one win can wash away the bad taste from a loss like the one they experienced in Detroit. He expects his teammates to bounce back and bring their best to the NFC South showdown.
"Yeah, I think you look at that -- I know it is not a Thursday week -- but similar on short weeks, if you lose, you want to get out there quicker rather than later to get it out of your system," Mayfield said. "Especially when you have a group like we have, they understand what we have to do to get the job done to find wins. Our guys will handle it the right way, heal up as quick as we can and go from there."
