“I am so proud of him,” Emily Mayfield Wrote For Her Husband Baker After Winning With the Buccaneers
Monday night, in a commanding 32-9 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, Baker Mayfield guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into the NFL playoffs’ divisional round. It was one of his best games to date. With the NFC champions of the previous season eliminated, the stage is now set for a new team to advance to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
Baked Mayfield’s best plays from the victory over the Eagles. I will forever struggle to understand Cleveland’s willingness to so quickly move on from Baker. Doubted so many times along the way, he belongs in the league as a franchise Quarterback. pic.twitter.com/MfhKsukyJ6
— Max McDulin (@maxmcdulin) January 16, 2024
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And why not Baker and the Buccaneers? Even though Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy as a quarterback at the University of Oklahoma, his NFL career hasn’t exactly been easy. His expectant spouse Emily, who took to social media on Tuesday to show her admiration for the man who has more than successfully replaced Tom Brady in Tampa Bay, praised his perseverance through it all.
“He never stopped believing”
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Emily Mayfield expressed her deep pleasure in her husband—who entered the NFL as the number one overall pick—in an Instagram Stories post. Her husband has faced many challenges throughout his career.
Emily commented, “This smile is everything,” atop an ESPN graphic that had Baker’s numbers from Monday night’s game beside a happy smile. “So much adversity. So many naysayers. People wanting him to fail.”
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Before the Cleveland Browns decided to trade for Deshaun Watson, Mayfield, the top choice in the 2018 draft, was thought to represent the team’s future. He helped the Browns win a playoff game in 2021.
After playing for three teams thereafter, Mayfield was forced to accept a one-year contract with Tampa Bay last spring. That decision has shown to be extremely wise and might provide the quarterback with much-needed stability after he had seven different head coaches throughout his first five years in the NFL.
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“He hasn’t stopped working, he never stopped believing,” Emily wrote. “I am so proud of him.”
The big night for Baker
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Monday night, Baker Mayfield’s season—which was already the best of his career—went one better than Brady’s in 2022, when he advanced the Bucs. With a spot in the NFC Championship Game on the line, Tampa Bay has earned its chance to play the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
On Monday, Mayfield opened up the Eagles’ defense with a 337-yard pass that was his second-highest yardage total of the 2023 campaign. With the help of some poor tackling by the Philadelphia defense, he completed the game with three touchdown passes, and Tampa outgained Philly by 150 yards.
How can you not love Baker Mayfield pic.twitter.com/We1LllO1CS
— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) January 16, 2024
Mayfield and the Bucs will face a different kind of challenge when they visit Ford Field to play the Lions, but he has already exceeded even the most optimistic preseason predictions. With an NFL career full of ups and downs, Mayfield has evidently thrived on being the underdog, and he will be confident in his ability to lead Tampa to an upset.