Bucs Gameday

Texans star claps back at Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield

Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield and Hosuton Texans DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson have been getting into it on and off the field.
River Wells|
Baker Mayfield and C.J. Gardner-Johnson exchange words during a game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Houston Texans.
Baker Mayfield and C.J. Gardner-Johnson exchange words during a game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Houston Texans. | Baker Mayfield's Instagram account

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is never afraid to get chippy with other players. Buccaneers fans — and a particular Houston Texans defensive back — got to see that on Monday night.

The Buccaneers faced off against the Texans on Monday Night Football, and they ended up winning that game 20-19 on some last minute Buccaneers heroics.

A lot of those heroics came courtesy of Baker Mayfield, who had some clutch moments during the game — he was particularly potent on the ground, recording 33 yards on three carries, one of which included a fourth-down scramble that kept the game alive for the Bucs and ultimately allowed them to win.

There was another scramble toward the end of the game, though, that caused Mayfield to exchange some words with Texans defender C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and it seems like that exchange has gone a little further off the field, too.

Baker Mayfield and C.J. Gardner-Johnson are exchanging verbal blows

This exchange started when Mayfield went to scramble on third down late in the game. He went down and appeared to be hurt, but he popped right up when it appeared that Gardner-Johnson was saying something to him, something we can only assume was trash talk by the way Mayfield spoke back at him.

After the game, Mayfield referenced Gardner-Johnson, referring to him as "my buddy Chauncey" before rolling his eyes while talking about his scrambling. He didn't let up, though, as he made an Instagram post after the game that he captioned "Built different. 10 toes down." Sure enough, most of the pictures featured his interaction with Gardner-Johnson, which seemingly made the post another shot at Gardner-Johnson.

Gardner-Johnson was initially humble the first time he was asked about the on-field incident.

"He got the dub. I'll leave it at that," Gardner-Johnson said after the game. "Great player, he won the game for his team. Congrats to him, on to the next."

That might have been before he saw Mayfield's post. After he saw Mayfield's post, he couldn't help but make another comment: "Boy this cute but still ringless."

It's clear that these two aren't huge fans of each other, and they haven't been for a bit — this rivalry also had some steam in 2023, when Gardner-Johnson played Mayfield as a member of the Lions in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs and picked him off, throwing the ball back to him during the celebration. Mayfield had the last word this time, however, as the two likely won't play each other again unless we get a very unlikely Super Bowl matchup this year.

READ MORE: Buccaneers' $90 million tackle avoids major injury in win over Texans

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River Wells
RIVER WELLS

River Wells is a sports journalist from St. Petersburg, Florida, who has covered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 2023. He graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Florida in 2021. You can follow him on Twitter @riverhwells.

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