Baker Mayfield and Vic Fangio have mutual respect heading into Buccaneers-Eagles matchup

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield’s remarkable turnaround in Tampa Bay is no surprise for Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

The veteran coach has admired Mayfield from afar, watching the 2018 No. 1 overall pick become one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks after bouncing from the Browns to the Panthers to the Rams in 2022 before joining the Buccaneers.

“The quarterback is playing really good. He’s a scrambler,” Fangio said this week. “I’ve always liked Mayfield. I think he’s a good quarterback. Why these teams that had him didn’t keep him, I don’t know. But GMs make mistakes, just like coaches do.”

Mayfield and Fangio face off Sunday when the Buccaneers host the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles in a battle between two of the NFL’s six undefeated teams after three weeks.

Mayfield said Wednesday he’s only had small interactions with Fangio but the admiration is mutual.

“Guys that have been on the same staff as him, everybody calls him Uncle Vic,” Mayfield said. “Apparently, everybody loves playing for him. Respect the guy tremendously. He leads, calls the game well. It’ll be a good matchup for us.”

Mayfield may have some help on the way. All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs and wide receiver Chris Godwin are nearing a return while other key players have been sidelined.

Star wideout Mike Evans won’t play because of a hamstring injury. Backup tight end/fullback Ko Kieft was placed on injured reserve with a season-ending leg injury. The offensive line already lost right guard Cody Mauch for the season and right tackle Luke Goedeke is on injured reserve.

Even Mayfield was limited in practice Wednesday with a sore biceps on his throwing arm.

Both Mayfield and coach Todd Bowles called Kieft a “tone-setter.”

“He was probably our toughest player (or) one of our toughest three players on the team because he was our tone-setter, offensively,” Bowles said. “He did a lot of things in the room from a blocking standpoint. So, we have to try and run the ball different ways without him. That was a huge loss for us.”

Getting Wirfs back would be a major boost for the offense. Center Graham Barton moved to left tackle to replace Wirfs and left guard Ben Bredeson went to center.

“It is a little different when he is in there,” Mayfield said. “Obviously, having a full year under our belt with Graham at center, Ben at left guard, Tristan at left tackle, just the communications (and) understanding what is getting done on that left side when he is in there, you can kind of cross that off the mind. You do not really worry about it as much. Hopefully, it happens. It is definitely a luxury when No. 78 is back there and you can leave him on an island knowing that he is going to shut it down. We will see what happens, adjust and adapt and that is what we have had to do so far.”

The Buccaneers dominated the Eagles in a 33-16 victory at home in Week 4 last year. The offense racked up 445 yards against Fangio’s defense. Since that loss, the Eagles are 19-1 with the only loss coming in a game where Jalen Hurts was injured in the first quarter.

“We just didn’t play good. They did, and they took it to us,” Fangio said about that loss.

Doing it again won’t be easy, especially with so many key players injured.

____

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl