The Buccaneers and Eagles will clash this week in a battle of undefeated NFC squads. And with the game taking place in Tampa Bay the Bucs should enjoy a fairly significant home field advantage. NFL teams traveling south to Florida in the early months of the season have historically struggled with the humidity of the region; it usually grants a conditioning edge to the team that lives and practices in that sticky weather.
The Eagles are aware of this and are trying to offset the advantage by altering their travel plans. The team revealed on Wednesday they'd be leaving Philadelphia a day earlier than normal to spend an extra 24 hours in the Tampa Bay heat. Baker Mayfield, however, doesn't think the strategy will be particularly effective.
While appearing on the NFL on Fox's Rearview podcast with Mark Sanchez, Mayfield brought up his opponent's travel plans while previewing the matchup and offered his blunt thoughts on the decision.
"We’ll have a good game plan, obviously, to try and tire these guys out," he said. "Advantage for us, we’re in Tampa, the heat. They’re not used to that. I know there’s already been the stories that broke about them coming down to Tampa a day early. I don’t necessarily think that helps them. One day doesn’t get you acclimated to this humidity, so I think, honestly, it makes them think about it more when they get down here earlier."
An early start to the fireworks for this contest. According to Mayfield there's a mental edge at play, not just a physical one, when it comes to the humidity of Tampa Bay. And to hear him tell it the Eagles have already lost that part of the battle if they're flying down a day early. Regardless of what one might think about that aspect of the game it is probably fair to point out that it takes more than a day to fully adjust to playing football in sweaty Florida weather.
Mayfield is always going to say what's on his mind. This time he provided some added spice to his next game in the process.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Baker Mayfield Offered Blunt Thoughts on Eagles' Strategy to Cope With Tampa Bay Heat.
