Sooners in the NFL: Baker Mayfield Leads Playoff Upset Bid in Battle of Oklahoma Quarterbacks
Two Oklahoma quarterbacks squared off in the NFL playoffs this weekend, which feels like every university’s dream.
Baker Mayfield and Jalen Hurts met up in Tampa Bay for a Wild Card game as the Buccaneers dominated in shocking fashion, beating the Eagles 32-9.
Mayfield was the star of the show, putting on a performance for the ages. If his job wasn’t already locked in stone for next season after leading the rag-tag bunch to the playoffs, it most certainly is now. He completed 22-of-36 passes for 337 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 16 rushing yards on two carries. It was a magical night for the former No. 1 overall pick in front of the home crowd.
"There's something about whether it's you're an underdog or a road game, just having your backs against the wall and knowing it's just your team versus everybody else when you're counted out," said Mayfield. "It's always fun to be in that role. Obviously I'm pretty comfortable in it, but our team has completely embraced that throughout the year."
Mayfield has always been best when he has a chip on his shoulder. Over the course of his career, both college and NFL, doubters have really seemed to fuel him.
The 2017 Heisman winner became the second Buccaneer to throw for 300 yards and three touchdowns in a postseason game, joining Tom Brady, who did it three times.
"He was sharp," said Todd Bowles, his head coach. "The whole game he was sharp. Like you said, they dropped some balls but he kept coming back, he kept going to them. He was putting the ball in places where only they could catch it. He didn't turn it over. He kept making play after play after play and did a hell of a job."
Mayfield’s 119.8 passer rating was the second-best passer rating in a postseason game by a Buccaneers quarterback. The only one ahead of Mayfield was the 125.8 mark Brady put up in the Super Bowl LV victory over Kansas City.
"We had a great game plan coming into it," said Mayfield. "The defense played lights out, Chase McLaughlin yet again, special teams-wise, nailing it. We had everything we wanted offensively; we could have definitely executed better. But everybody was on the same page. We were playing for each other tonight."
Hurts didn’t have the same amount of success as Mayfield, and the Eagles suffered a bit of Super Bowl hangover. A year after making the big game, it was a one and done. Hurts went 25-for-35 passing for 250 yards and a touchdown. He had no turnovers, but Philadelphia’s offense just couldn’t quite get going.
It still speaks volumes to Oklahoma’s success at the quarterback position over the last 10 years to have a game like this on the biggest stage. Hurts had a Super Bowl run and is one of the NFL’s highest-paid quarterbacks. He will have a chance to win big games again soon.
But Monday was Mayfield's night.
If the individual win wasn’t satisfying enough for Mayfield, his former team, the Cleveland Browns, were destroyed by the team they mortgaged their future to in order to get Deshaun Watson. Watson has been out for quite some time after signing an NFL record contract. Meanwhile, Mayfield now has two playoff wins compared to the Browns' one win since 1995. And ironically, Mayfield was the one who took home the lone Browns victory.
The moment had to be special for Mayfield, who has endured eight head coaches in six years. He has grown as a leader, a person and a player and it shows.
Mayfield’s gutsy performance was coming off of a week of limited practices and a "questionable" tag due to multiple injuries. In true Mayfield fashion, though, he let the adrenaline take over and turned in one of the best games of his career.
"He gutted it out," Bowles said. "I mean, if you looked at him during the week — he was limping around, he wasn't practicing, he was getting a little better each day — hopefully they didn't hit him too much. I know they got some shots on him and they got what, four sacks? So he came back from that, he stayed with the plan, he never flinched, and he made play after play after play, and that says a whole lot about him."
The Buccaneers will square off against the Detroit Lions next, now with bigger plans on the horizon.
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