Buccaneers Star Addresses Lions' C.J. Gardner-Johnson's Comments Ahead Of Playoff Game
Trash talk is part of the game and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are dealing with plenty of outside noise as they continue their playoff journey against the Detroit Lions. The two franchises have already matched up once this season and anticipating is building for what is expected to be an exciting second chapter.
Ahead of the Buccaneers and Lions clashing on the field, there has been a war of words building through the media. Earlier this week, Detroit safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson took a shot at Tampa Bay quarterback, Baker Mayfield.
"This group probably is one of the better groups we done faced all year, besides that Tampa group,” Gardner-Johnson said on Monday. “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.”
The comment was more fuel on the fire for the Buccaneers, a group that prides itself on proving doubters wrong. After all, that's what they've been doing all year after securing the NFC South and making the playoffs despite being written off throughout the year.
Star wide receiver Chris Godwin is a player who leads by example with his work ethic and play on the field. The Super Bowl Champion and All-Pro spoke up in his defense of Mayfield on Thursday. It wasn't much of a surprise to Godwin that Gardner-Johnson is the one mouthing off leading up to the game.
"I mean, I don't have too much of a response to it because I think it would be surprising if it wasn't coming from somebody that likes to talk trash," Godwin said to BucsGameday's Logan Robinson. "That's the kind of person that he is, that's how he gets himself fired up for games so it's not very like surprising to know out of the guys on the team that are going to say something, it's going to be him."
Mayfield is in the midst of a career campaign behind a resurgence with the Buccaneers. He's completed 364/566 passes (64.3%) for 4,044 yards with 28 touchdowns to ten interceptions while adding 163 yards and another score. Mayfield became the first signal-caller in franchise history to throw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns in a playoff game in the upset over Philadelphia.
Godwin and the Buccaneers are riding with their quarterback into Ford Field.
"We know who we have. We know who we have in Baker," Godwin said. "We know the type of player he is, the type of competitor he is, and the type of person he is. I never get concerned with what anybody else is saying on the other side because at the end of the day we got to go play the game. We ride with our guys and we're going to keep rolling."
It wouldn't have been an easy task for any quarterback to be the one who follows Tom Brady. With that being said, Mayfield has embraced the challenge and focused on going to work. That's an aspect that has resonated with Godwin and the rest of the team.
"It's been cool. He's a great guy. He's fit in really, really well," Godwin said. "I think that speaks to him personally, like as a person, he's very confident in himself but he also works his ass off. The guys can feel that and we respond really well to that, when somebody is genuine, they work their ass off, and they go out and perform on the field so I've got a lot of respect for him."
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions will face off in the Divisonal Round on Sunday, January 21. The game will kick off at 3:00 p.m. and is scheduled to be televised on NBC.
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