Teammate says Baker Mayfield figured out Vikings' signals

Former No. 1 pick Baker Mayfield led Tampa Bay to a surprising 20-17 upset over the Minnesota Vikings in his Buccaneers debut on Sunday.

Although Mayfield's 173 passing yards and two touchdowns don't exactly stand out in the box score, he impressively rebounded after starting the game 3-for-11 for 12 yards. Despite the 28-year-old initially attributing his turnaround to Tampa Bay's offense upping the tempo, his teammate Rachaad White provided some insight into why Mayfield looked like a different quarterback come the second half. 

During an appearance on Buccaneers Radio Network, White revealed that Mayfield had figured out the Vikings defense's signals late in the first half before connecting with WR Mike Evans on a 28-yard touchdown pass. 

“I just remember Bake came in the locker room, literally at halftime, he said, ‘I got it. We got all these signals,'” White said via JoeBucsFan.com. “We’re in there talking as an offense and he’s like, ‘I know all these signals. If they do this, they’re going into cover-2. If they do this, they’re going into cover-3. Every time I alert this and they do this signal, they’re dropping back to this.’"

"And I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s amazing.’ I was just listening to him and we were listening to him, and we just kind of understood,” White added. 

Tampa Bay's defense allowing seven points in the second half shouldn't be overlooked, but Mayfield's ability to extend drives in the second half made life easier for the unit.

As the Star Tribune's Andrew Krammer notes, Mayfield led the Buccaneers on three drives coming out of the break where they ran at least 10 plays. In turn, this helped limit Minnesota to just 9:57 time of possession in the second half.

While Mayfield's awareness is an encouraging sign for Tampa Bay going forward, White's comments are alarming from the Vikings' perspective, especially after making strides to improve the defense this offseason. Despite finishing 13-4 last season, Minnesota's defense was abysmal, allowing the second-most yards (6,608) and the fourth-most points (427) in the league. And after allowing 31 points to the Giants in their wild-card loss, the Vikings fired DC Ed Donatell, replacing him with former Dolphins HC Brian Flores. 

Mayfield might not need to decode Chicago's defensive signals to have a strong outing in Week 2. The Bears allowed 38 points to the Jordan Love-led Packers that were without No. 1 receiver Christian Watson in their season opener.

The Vikings, on the other hand, must seriously reevaluate their schemes as they face a much more imposing matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on "Thursday Night Football."