The Bucs handled business in Week 1.

After a dominant showing in defeating the Commanders, 37-20, quarterback Baker Mayfield spoke after the game about how he and the offense put up 392 total yards of offense and four touchdowns. Just as impressive is that Tampa Bay converted 9-of-13 (69%) third downs and only needed Jake Camarda to boot one punt.

Mayfield thinks that the offense was “pretty efficient” but recognizes that there is still work to be done before a much-anticipated rematch with the Lions in Week 2.

Baker Mayfield: “I Don’t Know How [Mike Evans] Does It”

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and WRs Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan – Photo by: USA Today

Baker Mayfield was baking on Sunday afternoon, completing 24-of-30 passes for 289 passing yards and four touchdowns. For that effort, he headlined Pewter Report’s most impressive column, but he was able to have that success thanks to the equally impressive play of his wide receivers, starting with Mike Evans.

Entering his 11th NFL season, Evans refuses to slow down.

Despite being draped in coverage by Commanders cornerback Benjamin St-Juste, the 6-foot-5 wide receiver had no problem hauling in the first touchdown of the Bucs’ season in the second quarter. He then followed that up with another touchdown late in the fourth quarter as icing on the cake.

Mayfield was left amazed at what his stud wideout continues to do.

“I don’t know how he does it, man,” Mayfield said. “[I’m] just trying to put the ball in his vicinity. The first one – I don’t know how he got around him and put his paws on it but somehow he did, and that’s what he does. I mean, that second touchdown to him was not really a good throw at all. He made an unbelievable play again. One-on-one coverage with Mike – those aren’t 50/50 balls – it’s leaning towards Mr. Evans.”

It wasn’t just Mike Evans who Baker Mayfield connected with, either. Chris Godwin caught everything thrown his way, hauling in eight receptions for 83 receiving yards and a touchdown himself. After the game, it was fitting that he wore a retro Gary “The Glove” Payton Seattle Supersonics jersey.

“Chris feels really good right now, Mayfield added. “I think he’ll tell you guys that physically he feels good, and you know, this offense plays to his strengths. He’s always been a smart football player. He’s willing to do whatever the coaches are going to ask, but this is now his opportunity to really shine [and] get back to that, at least.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“He’s always been a stud, but yeah, Chris looks really good and the more ‘JMac’ (Jalen McMillan) can come along, and some of these younger receivers, the better it’s going to be for Mike and Chris as well.”

While Godwin wore a basketball jersey to his press conference, Jalen McMillan made a baseball analogy in the locker room for his play.

“You’re going to swing and miss sometimes,” McMillan said.

He struck out on the opening drive of the first quarter, dropping what would have been a wide-open touchdown on third-and-three. But like a veteran slugger, he hit a home run in the fourth quarter, hauling in a 32-yard touchdown.

“You know, ‘JMac’ is an interesting guy,” Mayfield added. “His emotions – it’s kind of like a little roller coaster, but it’s a fun ride to be on, but just telling him to stay with it. You know, he handled his first game really really well. The ebbs and flows of the game – he was locked in the whole time, so he took advantage of his opportunity later on.”

Baker Mayfield And Bucs Enjoying The Win, Preparing To Face The Lions

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs’ offense produced a lot of cannon fire at Raymond James Stadium in lighting up the scoreboard, which was a product of Baker Mayfield finding his set of weapons and offensive coordinator Liam Coen strategically placing them in position to make plays on the battlefield against the Commanders.

General manager Jason Licht and the front office brought back all the big pieces over the offseason, and everything looked to be coming together in Week 1.

“That’s the standard that this group has,” Mayfield said. “We expect to be able to come out and be that efficient. Every game’s going to be different. This is the NFL. It’s highly competitive, but we expect to be able to be that efficient on offense. Defense is going to play physical, but yeah, it’s good to see that we came out Week 1, put everything together and like I said, there’s still stuff to work on but this is a good building block for us.”

While the team came into the game excited, they left it preparing for the next one.

They will now be facing a Lions team in Week 2 that got the better of them twice last year and is coming off a 26-20 overtime win over the Rams that they won punching the ball down Los Angeles’ throat.

Mayfield discussed how he will be gearing up to lead his team into the Motor City.

“Any time you finish the season against somebody on the road, especially, and then you play them early on, it’s something that you always look forward to,” Mayfield said. “Especially the competition level, Detroit is a fun place to play. Dan Campbell always has those guys ready to play, so yeah, we’re looking forward to it. There’s a lot of things to learn on from this tape, but whenever you’re playing them, you expect it to be a really physical game, so we have to be ready for that. We have to be able to handle the crowd noise, but yeah, like you said, enjoy this win. Never take wins in this lead for granted and then move on.”