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Lions DB CJ Gardner-Johnson made waves earlier this week by calling Tampa Bay signal caller Baker Mayfield a bad quarterback. The corner backed up his trash talk on the field Sunday.
In an NFL Playoff matchup between the teams, Gardner-Johnson picked Mayfield off in the first quarter.
Rubbing salt in the wound, he disrespectfully flipped the ball back to the passer after being pushed out of bounds on the play.
CJ Gardner-Johnson flipping Baker’s INT right back to him. The disrespect. pic.twitter.com/WTYHZWLCxH
— Danville Otterbots (@GoOtterbots) January 21, 2024
The interception comes just days after Gardner-Johnson called the Bucs’ QB out in the media.
“This group probably is one of the better [WR] groups we faced all year, besides that Tampa group,” he said after a win over the Rams.
“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.”
Baker Mayfield responded by saying, “I think he’s a really good player… Just needs to do a little more film study.”
The off-field beef transitioned to the playing field on Sunday as you could see CJ Gardner-Johnson go right after Mayfield following that interception. Getting in his face and tossing the ball back into Baker’s breadbasket, the corner was definitely feeling himself.
The takeaway would lead to points as Detroit added a field goal on their ensuing drive to build a 3-0 lead. Gardner-Johnson got the best of Mayfield in the first battle and Baker was unable to use the bulletin board material against the Lions.