Baker Mayfield Says Bucs' Win vs. Jets Was 'Personal' After Being Cut by Steve Wilks

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers gutted out a tough 29-27 win over the New York Jets on Sunday, requiring a game-winning field goal as time expired.

The win moved the Bucs to 3-0 on the year, and for quarterback Baker Mayfield it also provided a bit of revenge against his former head coach with the Carolina Panthers, Steve Wilks, who is now New York's defensive coordinator.

"I loved it," he told reporters after the contest. "And also their D-coordinator was the one that cut me in Carolina. Lot of stuff was personal today. Haason Reddick, former Jet... a lot of people."

In Dec. 2022, the Panthers cut Mayfield after he went 1-5 as the starter and was benched. He would go on to have a brief stint with the Los Angeles Rams that season before signing with the Bucs in 2023.

And boy, has that worked out.

Mayfield continued his excellent season on Sunday, finishing 19-of-29 against the Jets for 233 yards, a touchdown and no turnovers. He also rushed four times for 44 yards and led the game-winning drive.

He has now thrown for 615 yards and six touchdowns this season and has yet to turn the ball over. He has been one of the NFL's best stories since joining Tampa Bay, posting career bests in passing yards (4,500) and touchdowns (41) last season while leading the Bucs to postseason appearances in back-to-back campaigns.

The team seems well on its way to a third straight playoff appearance, going unbeaten thus far, though the three victories have come by a combined six points. The Bucs have eked out the nervy ones thus far, though a difficult matchup against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles awaits in Week 4.

Mayfield and the Bucs offense had to overcome the Jets blocking a field goal with under two minutes remaining and returning it for a go-ahead touchdown, leaving them in a one-point deficit. But everybody in Tampa seemed to believe Mayfield would find a way to put them back in position to win.

"When when the kick got blocked, we saw 1:47 on the clock. We were like 'We've got Baker with the ball in his hands and 1:47. We're going to win this game with a kick,'" long-snapper Evan Deckers told reporters after the win. "It was pretty fun. As a specialist, you live for those opportunities."

And Mayfield lived for the chance to stick it to Wilks.