With the NFC South gearing to be one of the most entertaining divisions in the NFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles has issued a bizarre solution for the ongoing conflict between starting quarterback Baker Mayfield and Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski. The duo hasn’t looked eye to eye since Mayfield’s abrupt end to his time with the Cleveland Browns. The beef was reignited after the Tampa Bay quarterback called Stefanski after his move to Atlanta. Bowles issued a strange comment to find a resolution.
“I think that’s something that they have to figure out from that standpoint since we can’t have a boxing match where they get in the ring with each other and knock each other out,” Bowles said in an interview with Josina Anderson. “You know we’re going to back our guy Baker, and I’m sure they’re going to back their coach as well. It’s a division game, so it’s already going to be a tough-fought, hard-fought game, so it just adds to it.”
Mayfield was in Cleveland for four seasons after being picked No. 1 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. The star quarterback started his career with a 27-touchdown season. However, by 2020, Mayfield had played under a third head coach when Kevin Stefanski came in.
The duo helped Cleveland make its first playoff spot in nearly 20 years and its first postseason win since 1994. However, things went downhill in 2021 as Mayfield battled injuries before the Browns had an 8-9 record. He was then traded to the Carolina Panthers and was on a journeyman track before taking up the starting role with the Buccaneers.
Fast forward to this offseason, when the Falcons hired Kevin Stefanski, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter shared a tweet opining that the new head coach, “had a dumpster fire at quarterback in Cleveland” with Mayfield and Deshaun Watson having “failed.” Mayfield responded with shots fired at his old coach with the Browns.
“Failed is quite the reach, pal,” Mayfield shared on X. “Still waiting on a text/call from him after I got shipped off like a piece of garbage. Can’t wait to see you twice a year, Coach.”
While the duo is not expected to get in the boxing ring anytime soon, as per Bowles’ suggestion, the NFC South divisional battle between the Bucs and the Falcons could present two blockbuster matchups in the 2026 season. Further, this rivalry will add to the craziness witnessed in the division last season when the top three teams were tied at an 8-9 record, after which only the Carolina Panthers made it through to the postseason.
#Bucs HC Todd Bowles on Baker Mayfield anxious to see Kevin Stefanski 2x/yr:
“…It’s something that they’ve to figure out since we can’t have a boxing match where they get in the ring w/ each other & knock each other out. U know we’re going to back our guy Baker (Mayfield…” pic.twitter.com/2zZfHTPhF9
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) April 6, 2026
Unfortunately for Todd Bowles and Baker Mayfield, this turned out to be a difficult phase for Tampa after the Buccaneers started the season with a 5-1 record before falling to an 8-9 finish. While questions were raised about Mayfield’s drop in form, a former Tampa legend defended his quarterback.
Lavonte David defends Baker Mayfield after missing the playoffs
Recently retired Bucs linebacker Lavonte David revealed just how much pain Baker Mayfield played through the 2025 season when the Buccaneers finished with a losing record. However, David argued that his QB1 dealt with constant injuries in the latter half of the year, which held him back.
“I’m telling you, Baker was going through a lot,” David said on The Arena podcast. “Baker had a lot of injuries that you didn’t expect a quarterback to play through. He had the oblique injury, he had the shoulder injury, he had a lot of things — like ankle injury, knee injury — he had a lot of stuff he was going through. The season’s over now, I can talk about it, but he had a lot of stuff that he was going through, and he was really trying to push and really trying to be the player that we needed him to be. To be honest, we was doing his thing for the most part.”
The 2026 NFC South season promises to be must-watch television. The Bucs and Falcons will meet twice, with the Mayfield-Stefanski rivalry adding extra fuel to an already heated division. Now, only time will tell who finishes on top and holds divisional supremacy. For now, according to history, the Falcons vs. Buccaneers rivalry has been played 65 times, with Atlanta winning 33 games and Tampa Bay winning 32 games.
