Baker Mayfield: Lions' Gardner-Johnson Hasn't 'Really Watched Film' amid Criticism

The trash talk between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions is heating up ahead of Sunday's NFC Divisional Round matchup.

Last week, Lions safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson took a dig at Baker Mayfield by complimenting Tampa's receiving corps by calling it "a great group" if you give them "a good quarterback" to play with.

"If you give that Tampa group a good quarterback, that's a good group—(Mike) Evans, (Chris) Godwin, (Russell) Gage, that's a great group. I played against 'em for a year," Gardner-Johnson said.

Mayfield got his chance to respond on Wednesday by pointing out Gardner-Johnson probably hasn't "really watched film" on them this season because Gage hasn't played a snap for the Bucs in the regular season after suffering a torn patellar tendon during training camp.

In Gardner-Johnson's defense, he didn't specify that Mayfield wasn't a good quarterback. He said that when the Bucs have a good quarterback, their receiving corps will put up numbers that rank with the best groups in the NFL.

Both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin had more than 1,000 yards during the regular season. The Bucs were one of four teams that had a pair of teammates surpass the 1,000-yard mark, along with the Miami Dolphins (Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle), San Francisco 49ers (Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle) and Philadelphia Eagles (A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith).

This was the third consecutive year and fourth time in five years that Evans and Godwin had 1,000 yards in the same season. Evans has hit that benchmark in each of his first 10 seasons, extending his record streak.

Mayfield signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Bucs in free agency to replace Tom Brady. He turned out to be a great bargain after throwing for a career-high 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns to help Tampa win the NFC South for the third consecutive season.

The Buccaneers shook off a sluggish end to the regular season with a 32-9 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Game on Monday. Mayfield threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns against the inept Philadelphia defense.

Detroit's feel-good season added another chapter on Sunday night with a 24-23 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. It was the first playoff game hosted by the Lions since Jan. 8, 1994, and their first postseason victory since Jan. 5, 1992.

Mayfield will have a chance to show Gardner-Johnson how good he is on the field Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. The Bucs and Lions will play at Ford Field with a berth in the NFC Championship Game on the line.