WATCH: CJ Gardner-Johnson taunts Baker Mayfield as he hands him the ball after a first-quarter interception during their Divisional Round game

CJ Gardner-Johnson missed the regular season game between the Lions and the Bucs due to injury.

WATCH: CJ Gardner-Johnson taunts Baker Mayfield as he hands him the ball after a first-quarter interception during their Divisional Round game

CJ Gardner-Johnson tauting Baker Mayfield (via screengrab/X)

The Detroit Lions are hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. This is Detroit’s second home playoff game this season, after beating the Los Angeles Rams in their Wild Card matchup last Sunday.

The city of Detroit is experiencing a new high, as they are one-half away from reaching the NFC Championship game. However, Baker Mayfield and the Bucs are making it hard for the Lions to get anything going.

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The game though, started with the Lions having a great first quarter. It started with the Lions scoring a field goal. They followed that up by intercepting Baker Mayfield as CJ Gardner-Johnson came up with the pick. It was the game’s first turnover and the Lions faithful were understandably fired up. However, Gardner-Johnson was equally amped up with his pick and proceeded to flip the intercepted football back to Mayfield as he jogged away.

Both these players have a history of trash-talking. Last week, Gardner-Johnson trashed Mayfield, disparaging the Bucs quarterback’s skills and talking up the Rams’ Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua receiving tandem. Mayfield had a witty response to it. That trash talk seems to have boiled over in the game, as Gardner-Johnson took his opportunity to taunt the former Cleveland Browns’ quarterback.

The winner of this game will take on the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game next Sunday. The Lions are looking to get to their first championship game since 1991 season. Buccaneers, on the other hand, are looking to get to their first championship game since winning the Super Bowl in 2020.

Baker Mayfield and CJ Gardner-Johnson have a history of trash talking

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ QB Baker Mayfield and the Detroit Lions’ safety CJ Gardner-Johnson are locking horns against each other in the Divisional Round. They have had a history of going at each other as the former Philadelphia Eagles’ safety called out Mayfield last week ahead of their playoff matchup.

Baker Mayfield (L) and CJ Gardner-Johnson (R)
Baker Mayfield (L – via The Washington Post) and CJ Gardner-Johnson (R – via Fox News)
If you give that Tampa group a good quarterback, that's a great group. [Mike] Evans, [Chris] Godwin, [Russell] Gage, that's a great group. I played against them for real.
Gardner-Johnson via Detroit Free Press.

The former first-overall pick responded to that at his weekly media availability. 

I don't think he's really watched film, because he mentioned Russell Gage--We love Russell, but Russell didn't play a snap all year for us. He must be going off preseason stuff that the media was talking about.... (Gardner-Johnson) didn't play in our first game, so I'm excited to see him. He's a good player, but, yeah, he's got to do a little more film study.
Mayfield said, via Sports Illustrated.

The Lions and Bucs are playing each other in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. The winner of this game will take on the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game.

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