Despite finishing the game without his top three receiving options, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield was able to lead his team to a convincing win over the 49ers on Sunday.
Wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin were out from the before the opening kick, and rookie sensation Emeka Egbuka joined them on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury during the game.
With his triumvirate out of commission, Mayfield had to look a bit further down the depth chart for receiving help, and he got it. One player who stepped up was seventh-round 2025 draft pick Tez Johnson, who broke free for a 45-yard touchdown that helped seal the game for the Buccaneers.
TEZ JOHNSON FIRST CAREER TD PLUS THE FLIP 🔥
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 12, 2025
WHAT A DIME BY BAKER 🎯
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/77WtTMlNsu
After the play, the Tampa crowd showered the field with chants of “MVP” intended for quarterback Baker Mayfield. As Johnson would tell reporters after the game, he initially was confused by the MVP chants and believed them to be for himself, before his teammates on the bench corrected him.
The scene was fun to imagine, but thanks to the Buccaneers, we got mic’d up footage of the moment Johnson hilariously realized his mistake.
“Baker Mayfield threw you the ball,” Sterling Shepard said flatly, before bursting out laughing.
There’s no telling whether the MVP chants were for Tez or Baker 🤣 pic.twitter.com/yfRGMurtOx
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 13, 2025
A hilarious rookie moment, but one that Johnson realized for the fun that it was. As for Mayfield, he seems to think it’s still way too early for any MVP talk, but the conversation is certainly getting louder, whether or not he thinks it’s time.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Hilarious Video Shows Tez Johnson Realizing Buccaneers Fans Don’t Think He’s the MVP.
