The Jacksonville Jaguars held their first joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and while there were some ups and downs overall, the defense had an incredibly strong day — so strong that Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield openly admitted that the practice was "eye-opening."
In a post-practice press conference, Mayfield said if this had been a real game, Tampa Bay would have lost, and that Jacksonville was more physical than they were.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield said Jacksonville was playing with “their hair on fire” and said had it been a game today; his team would not have been on the winning side. pic.twitter.com/GRpGpnEWTO
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) August 25, 2026
"It's tough," he said. "I thought, you know, they gave us some good looks. They were playing for hair on fire, I can
say that. We definitely, if this was a full game, I don't think we would have come out of it on the winning side of it. So just a little eye-opening. Got to get back and watch the tape. You know, it's never as good or as bad as you think it is, but I think from my standpoint, a day out-physicaled, that's never what you want to have. So it doesn't matter who we have out there. We've got guys who are going to do their very best to keep the whole physical team going. I don't know if we did that today, so we'll take that to help."
SI.com's John Shipley was able to provide some insight; he reported that the Jaguars got at least four takeaways, including a pick-six. Mia O'Brien likewise reported that Josh Hines-Allen had a strong day, with three sacks in one period, including a strip-sack.
The offense admittedly struggled more, largely due to an injury scare with Brian Thomas Jr., who exited practice early, seemingly as a precaution more than anything else. Before leaving, however, he seemed poised to have a banner day, as he beat Tampa Bay cornerback Zyon McCollum and was able to get a 50+ yard touchdown pass from quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
On the whole, it was a mixed bag offensively for Jacksonville, with some big plays being made and a few drops, pressures, and fumbles allowed.
Still, the defense was dominant enough that Mayfield was able to publicly say Jacksonville was tougher and more physical than they were, and would have won — offensive struggles and all.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Baker Mayfield delivers blunt assessment after facing Jaguars defense
