Baker Mayfield Says Eagles' Travel Plans Won't Help Adjustment to Tampa Heat, Humidity

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield expressed his belief this week that the Philadelphia Eagles arriving a day earlier than usual for their Week 4 game in Tampa won't make a difference in terms of adjusting to the heat and humidity.

John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported Monday that after losing a Week 4 road game to the Bucs last season, the Eagles decided they will arrive in Tampa on Friday this week rather than Saturday in an effort to "acclimate to the heat."

When asked about the Eagles plan by former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez on NFL on FOX Presents: Rearview (h/t Pro Football Talk's Josh Alper), Mayfield said the following:

"We'll have a good game plan, obviously, to try and tire these guys out. Advantage for us, we're in Tampa; the heat. They're not used to that. I know there's already been the stories that broke about them coming down to Tampa a day early. I don't necessarily think that helps them. One day doesn't get you acclimated to this humidity. I think, honestly, it makes them think about it more when they get down here earlier."

September games in Florida are often a difficult proposition for teams based in cooler climates, and figures to be the case for the Eagles once again this weekend.

The Weather.com forecast for Tampa on Sunday projects a high temperature of 91 degrees with 69% humidity during the daytime.

Last season, the Buccaneers dominated the Eagles 33-16, racking up 445 total yards to Philly's 227. The Bucs also possessed the ball for 36:17, effectively wearing down the Eagles' defense.

Mayfield was the star of the game, going 30-of-47 for 347 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, while also rushing for 10 yards and a touchdown.

After the one-sided nature of last year's game, the Eagles seem to be searching for any advantage they can get.

That isn't surprising given how potentially huge the result of Sunday's contest could be.

A Week 4 game doesn't typically make or break a team, but with both the Eagles and Bucs sitting at a perfect 3-0, the winner will take a massive step toward the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC.

Winning would not only put one team ahead of the other, but it would effectively give them a two-game lead since they would hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.

If the Eagles are able to adjust to the heat and turn in a great performance en route to victory on Sunday, it could possibly set a new standard in the NFL for how teams decide to handle early-season road games in warm climates.