Monday night’s game is not just another regular-season matchup between the Bucs and Texans.
For quarterback Baker Mayfield and wide receiver Mike Evans, it serves as a homecoming back to their home state of Texas, where their respective football careers launched. Mayfield and Evans are looking forward to being back and playing in Houston for different reasons.
Baker Mayfield Focused On Doing His Job And Getting Bucs A Primetime Win
Before Baker Mayfield became a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback at Oklahoma and moved on to becoming an NFL starting quarterback, he was born and raised in Austin before becoming a walk-on at Texas Tech.
Former Texas Tech QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today
His roots were in Texas, and when his boots hit the ground in Houston, he and the rest of the Bucs’ offense will look to touch down and score touchdowns early. That means not only turning the page on a slow offensive start in Week 1 but also helping the team overcome a 0-5 record in primetime games last year, which ended in a 23-20 defeat at the hands of the Commanders in the Wild Card Round.
Flipping that script and setting the tone in Week 2 is critical.
“Just the little details – executing [and] doing the right stuff,” Mayfield said on how that will happen. “Like I told you guys, obviously we have a great team, but it’s about just doing our job [and] trusting the guy next to you to do theirs – especially in the prime time games when you’re waiting around all day…Not doing too much – just do your job, your job only, at the very highest level you possibly can and then just execute it.”
Baker Mayfield Wants To Get Mike Evans Involved – And Get In Some Whataburger
What will be a major key to victory is getting Mike Evans involved early and often. Evans did not have the worst showing to begin the season but would still like to build off his five-catch, 51-yard performance. Baker Mayfield knows the passing game goes through M1K3 first before trickling down to other targets.
Bucs WR Mike Evans and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
“Oh, 100%,” Mayfield said. “That’s the big thing – he draws attention wherever he’s at. Obviously ‘Grizz’ (Josh Grizzard) being the guy he is within our offense, motioning guys, trying to get single coverage…When they don’t want to let him have single coverage, that opens opportunities for other guys and they’re taking advantage of it. So, his opportunities will be there. We’re confident in that.”
Outside of just taking advantage of having Evans to throw the ball to, Mayfield will also enjoy the fact he will get to eat some Whataburger post-game. He even has the hat to prove his allegiance to the popular fast food burger chain founded in the Lone Star State.
“It’s always awesome,” Mayfield said about returning home. “It’s always awesome to get Whataburger after the game as well. That’s a really big plus. But yeah, it’s always good to go back to Texas, knowing that there’s a lot of people there to support. We have a bunch of guys that have roots there as well. So, it’s a good time.”
Evans, the Galveston, Texas native and Texas A&M alum, grew up just an hour outside of Houston. Although he last played in Houston in 2023, this could be the last time the 32-year-old suits up close to home. With the way schedules are, it might be another few years before these two teams match up again, and it could happen in Tampa Bay next time around.
That means that the legendary wide receiver is aiming to show up and show out, even more than usual.
“I mean, it might be,” Evans acknowledged about that possibility. “Even if I played another what, three [or] four years? When is the next time we go back? I got a lot of people coming to this game for that sole reason.”
It’s always fun to look back at where players came from, and while Texas was a big part of Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans’ lives, their sole focus is on the Bucs starting the year 2-0 and coming away with a win that would be that much sweeter.