Judgment Day: Bucs Baker Mayfield Ready For Playoff Live-or-Die vs. Commanders
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the Washington Commanders at Raymond James Stadium in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, and Baker Mayfield is ready for all the smoke.
We all know that playoff football is different, and players get judged differently based on how well they perform in these big games. This is especially true for quarterbacks.
It doesn't matter what you did in the regular season. If a quarterback comes up short in the big moments, that is all anyone remembers. Your reputation can live and die by how you perform in the playoffs.
Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen has given his thoughts on why quarterbacks are judged differently in the postseason.
“Because it's truly win or go home, like there isn't anything going next week unless you truly leave it out there and do everything you're supposed to do,” Coen said. “They do get judged a lot of times based on how you perform in the postseason season when it's crunch time, when it really matters. Not to say that the regular season doesn't but the intensity the stakes are a little bit higher at this time."
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) talks with offensive coordinator Liam Coen.
Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
For Mayfield, he is 2-2 in the playoffs during his career, and slayed the Philadelphia Eagles on the road last year before going toe-to-toe with the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in a 31-23 loss in the Divisional Round.
And Coen knows what version of Baker he will be getting against the Commanders.
"I think that any quarterback wants those moments," Coen added. "He wants to have the ball and these type of situations and games to go lead his team to a win. So the competitive nature that he has in the day-to-day, I'm sure we're going to see that on full display Sunday night.”
All eyes will be on Mayfield, who many think deserved a Pro Bowl nod, but the one thing we know about Baker is that he loves to prove the doubters wrong.
And he will get a chance to do that on Sunday night, in a game where he will be judged far more harshly than he ever has before.
It's Judgment Day. And he wouldn't have it any other way.
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