Baker Mayfield Off to Hot Start With Buccaneers to Begin 2023 Season

Buccaneers' QB Baker Mayfield is off to a hot start to begin the 2023 season, but can he keep it up?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost the greatest quarterback of all-time, Tom Brady, to retirement following the completion of the 2022 season. With Brady now on the outs, the Buccaneers signed veteran QB Baker Mayfield to compete with third-year guy Kyle Trask.

Aug 3, 2023; Tampa Bay, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) and quarterback Kyle Trask (2) participate in training camp at AdventHealth Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Mayfield went on to win that battle to become the Bucs' cemented starter at quarterback to begin the season, but that didn't calm the narrative surrounding Tampa Bay that they would be one of the worst teams in the league and potentially be in the running for eventual #1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams.

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Perhaps one of the Buccaneers' biggest haters leading up to the regular season was NBC Sports' Peter King who only had Tampa Bay winning two games all season. Following Tampa Bay's 2-0 start to the season, King is walking back his statements about the Bucs only winning two games and a large part of the reason why people are starting to gain respect for the Bucs is in large part due to the play of QB Baker Mayfield.

Just two games into the 2023 season, Mayfield has gone 47/68 (69.1%) for 490 yards and 3 touchdowns for a rating of 104.4 while not turning the ball over and only being sacked once. The stats may not blow anyone away, but Baker has been uber-efficient since taking the reigns as the Buccaneers' starter and has earned himself the 3rd-highest grader passer through two games at 82.6 per Pro Football Focus.

In game one against the Minnesota Vikings, it wasn't the stats that stuck out from Mayfield, but instead, his effort and willingness to do whatever it took to win took over and won over the Bucs' fan base and locker room.

On Sunday, the fruits of his labor kicked in as Mayfield put on a show in his first game in Raymond James Stadium as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer going 26/34 (76.5%) for 317 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions for a passer rating of 114.5. 

If this was Mahomes, we’d have to watch it until we vomited. Let’s see how much media @bakermayfield gets for it.

pic.twitter.com/c2yuH2dwnC

— Zach Johnson (@BucsBy30) September 17, 2023

The efficiency that Baker has shown thus far was not expected after his below-par performances the past couple of seasons with the Browns, Panthers, and Rams. New home, new Baker and it looks like that swagger he has always carried is starting to exude itself as he becomes more comfortable in the Buccaneers' offense.

That efficiency is something the Bucs will look to capture on a weekly basis and ever-so-important is the work that is able to be done on third down to keep drives alive - a facet that Mayfield is excelling greatly at.

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#Bucs QB Baker Mayfield on 3rd downs this season:

- 20/23 passing
- 201 passing yards
- 3 TDs
- 0 INTs
- 0 sacks
- 132.1 passer rating pic.twitter.com/JIzOCOIRJh

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 18, 2023

With things off to such a hot and promising start for Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the question then becomes is this level of play and efficiency from Baker sustainable across the remaining 15 games in the regular season?

First things first, we have to acknowledge that opposing teams aren't that familiar with the Tampa Bay offense just yet as first-year offensive coordinator Dave Canales breathes a breath of fresh year into an offense that desperately needed it. Canales is calling plays that look to get stars Chris Godwin and Mike Evans open to help lead the offense and that seems to be working.

Nathan Ray Seebeck, USA Today

If Canales can continue drawing up plays that get those two studs open then Baker can continually feed them the ball and let them lead the team to victory.

The Bucs' running game is slowly starting to take shape and once it does reach its' full potential it can only open up the playbook for Canales and leave Baker with more time in the pocket to find his receivers open downfield on passing plays.

The Buccaneers' offensive line has also played well above expectations at this point of the season only allowing 1 sack through two games. There has been a reshuffling along the line over the past couple of seasons, but Canales and the offensive staff let the starters build camaraderie with one another this off-season and it is paying off big time.

IF the Buccaneers can stay healthy and continue to progress and develop in Dave Canales' offense then the sky's the limit for Baker Mayfield. Things will start to open up more and getting his playmakers the ball in space will be pivotal moving forward.

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This Tampa Bay team was disrespected all off-season and they, including Mayfield, have opened up the season with a gigantic chip on their shoulders. Maintaining that embodiment will be key and there is no better guy to have leading that charge other than the Bake Show. The Bucs will face their toughest opponent yet this week in a Monday Night Football showdown with last year's runner-up the Philadelphia Eagles and if Baker performs well again against one of the upper-echelon defenses in the league then we can begin to spin the narrative on Mayfield and this Buccaneers team.

You can follow Caleb on Twitter @chsnole.

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