C.J. Gardner-Johnson Takes Shot at Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield Ahead of Detroit Lions Matchup
Tampa Bay came away with a convincing win over the Eagles this past Monday night to earn the right to face off against the Detroit Lions in the Divisional round of the playoffs. Detroit was in a neck-and-neck battle with the Los Angeles Rams in their Wild Card game before clinching the game for Detroit's first playoff win in what seemed like forever.
With the two now set to face off at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, they have turned their attention to preparation for their opponent, and with it comes quotes from the players and coaches that could make for some interesting headlines.
For Detroit defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson that meant giving the Buccaneers' wide receivers their flowers - even comparing them to the likes of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. However, in the same breath, Gardner-Johnson also decided to take a stab at Bucs' quarterback Baker Mayfield, per Detroit Free Press' Dave Birkett.
“This group probably is one of the better groups we done faced all year, besides that Tampa group,” Gardner-Johnson said. “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.”
Bulletin board material. There is nothing like it, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson is no first-timer when it comes to having certain feelings toward the Buccaneers after having faced off against them eight times in his career with the Saints and the Lions.
Stating that the Bucs are missing a quarterback is interesting, especially since Mayfield is having the best season of his career and just became the only QB in Bucs' history to post 300+ passing yards and 3 touchdowns in a playoff game.
Baker and the Bucs' offense are riding high at the moment and Detroit's defense is susceptible to big plays and points. The Bucs and Baker now know how they are viewed by the Lions' players and will likely walk into this one with a chip on their shoulder once again as they look for revenge from their Week six loss to this same Lions' team.
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