Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield embarrassed the struggling Giants with both his passing and running. To make matters worse for New York, he also mocked Tommy DeVito, a fan favorite for the Giants, by copying his celebratory dance after scoring a touchdown.
Mayfield dashed into the end zone on a stunning 10-yard scramble, one of Tampa Bay’s four rushing touchdowns, as the Buccaneers defeated the Giants and their new starting quarterback, DeVito, 30-7 on Sunday. This win ended a four-game losing streak for the Buccaneers, while New York extended its losing streak to six.
Before the game, both teams were underperforming and coming off bye weeks. Much of the attention had been on the Giants’ decision to bench and release quarterback Daniel Jones. DeVito, a confident and outspoken player, was named the starter, hoping to provide a spark for coach Brian Daboll’s team as he did last season.
However, it was Mayfield who brought the energy, both with his impressive play and his mocking of DeVito.
“Tribute to Tommy,” said Mayfield with a serious face, after completing 24 of 30 passes for 294 yards. “He’s a good dude, that’s why. Most of the time, I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s spontaneous.”
Mayfield was asked multiple times about the celebration and admitted he wanted to give Giants fans something they could relate to. He also mentioned meeting DeVito at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas in February.
“He had his chain blinged out, swag walking through the casino. It was awesome,” Mayfield said. “It was like a movie scene, honestly.”
DeVito, on the other hand, failed to spark the NFL’s lowest-scoring offense. He threw for 189 yards, mostly in the second half, as New York was well on its way to another loss at home, where they have yet to win this season.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers dominated every part of the game in a near-perfect performance. They had touchdown runs of 1 yard by Sean Tucker, 6 yards by Bucky Irving, and another 1-yard run by Rachaad White. After losing to the Ravens, 49ers, and Chiefs, Tampa Bay (5-6) closed the gap to just one game behind Atlanta in the NFC South.
“We’re hoping it builds confidence,” Mayfield said. “We have a belief that we are still sitting and controlling our own destiny.”
Tampa Bay scored on five of their first six possessions, jumping to a 30-0 lead. None was more exciting than Mayfield’s touchdown run with just 12 seconds left in the first half. On a second-and-goal from the 10-yard line, he avoided pressure and sprinted for the end zone. He was hit by Cor’Dale Flott low and Dru Phillips high around the 2-yard line, but he stayed airborne as he crossed the goal line. The ball came loose when he hit the ground, but Mayfield jumped up and flexed his muscles in DeVito’s style as the Buccaneers took a 23-0 lead.
DeVito said that players discussed the celebration in the locker room, but he did not see it himself.
Coach Brian Daboll was asked about Mayfield’s celebration and said Mayfield played well, but he insisted that the Giants’ poor performance had nothing to do with Jones being released.
“No excuse on that,” Daboll said, with his job on the line despite making the playoffs in 2022. “We just didn’t do a good enough job.”
“We played soft, and they beat the (expletive) out of us,” defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence added.
Mayfield’s top target, Mike Evans, returned to the lineup after missing three games with a hamstring injury. He caught five passes for 68 yards. Bucky Irving also had a strong game, rushing for 87 yards and catching six passes for 64 yards.
The Buccaneers defense limited the Giants to just three first downs and 45 yards in the first half, finishing with 450 yards to the Giants’ 245.
DeVito had a 17-yard run in the fourth quarter to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Devin Singletary. The bold New Jersey native was sacked four times, including once in the fourth quarter, forcing him to leave the game for one play.
