TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Bucs’ quarterback Baker Mayfield battled through a rib injury last week and has now added an ankle injury on top of that.
With the biggest game of the season ahead, playing on Monday gives him and other players who are working through injuries a crucial extra day of rest and treatment.
“Yeah, got a little ankle injury pretty early in the game,” Mayfield said Wednesday. “But [it’s] one of those things that as the week goes on, feel better and better, get some good rehab and work done on it and just see how it goes. But luckily, the blessing is we play on Monday night.”
“Guys, you know [are] coming off a physical game on Sunday, especially defense—I think they ran the ball 40-some times,” said Bucs’ linebacker Lavonte David. “So, we know what type of game we had right there. So, it gives guys a chance to recover and also study up a little more and take advantage of that time of getting healthy and getting ready for our opponent.”
The extra preparation this week allows for an elevated focus on the fundamentals, which is what games of this magnitude often come down to.
“Teams in the playoffs don’t beat themselves, and that’s really what it is,” Mayfield said. “There’s some plays that they’re making – really special plays, but most of the time it’s not beating yourselves, [it’s] taking care of the ball, playing penalty-free for the most part. And so it goes back to even more of a hyper-focus.”
“It’s win or go home,” said Bucs’ safety Antoine Winfield Jr. “You’re playing for all the marbles, so we’ve got to bring it. It doesn’t start during the game. It starts early in the week—like today—just going out and practicing and getting it flowing and letting everybody know that it’s time to lock in and make this run.”
In looking at where the Bucs can improve from the last meeting back with the Eagles in Week 3, Winfield Jr. and David both said their run defense—Winfield said, “They gashed us” last time.
Offensively, Mayfield said they were a different team back then and still trying to find themselves, but they know that the Eagles’ defensive front will be their biggest challenge again come Monday.
