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The Lions are fairly heavy favorites to top the Buccaneers in their NFC Divisional matchup, but it does seem like Baker Mayfield will be heading to Detroit with a solid chip on his shoulder thanks in no small part to CJ Gardner-Johnson.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest most NFL fans are rooting for the Detroit Lions to triumph over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The team’s win over the Rams marked the first time it had won a playoff game in 32 years and helped them get one step closer to the Super Bowl—a game they haven’t played in (never mind won) since the first one was held all the way back in 1967.
However, it’s also kind of hard to root against the Buccaneers, who head into the contest as 6.5-point underdogs. The squad punched its ticket to the postseason thanks in no small part to the play of Baker Mayfield, who has mounted a fairly impressive second act after most people wrote him off due to how he looked after he succumbed to the curse that comes with being a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.
However, Lions safety CJ Garnder-Johnson doesn’t seem to be super intimidated by Mayfield, as the QB caught a stray while his soon-to-be opponent was discussing the Los Angeles offense ahead of last weekend’s wild card showdown:
“This group probably is one of the better groups we done faced all year, besides that Tampa group
If you give that Tampa group a good quarterback, that’s a great group. Evans, Godwin, [Russell] Gage, that’s a great group. I played against them for real.”
Mayfield got the chance to respond to that jab at a press conference on Wednesday where he implied Gardner-Johnson might be watching some outdated tape while noting Russell Gage didn’t play a single snap for the Buccaneers this year after tearing a tendon in his knee during the preseason.
Full quote from Baker Mayfield on Gardner Johnson’s comments that the #Bucs would be a good group with good QB.
“I mean, I don't think he's really watched film because he mentioned Russell Gage. You know, we love Russell, but he hasn’t played a snap this year for us. He must be… pic.twitter.com/MYh9SUSaZH
— JC Allen (@JCAllenNFL) January 17, 2024
It might not be the spiciest beef the NFL has produced this season, but it’ll be very interesting to see how both men fare when they finally face off at Ford Field.