Vikings were tipping defensive signals in loss to Bucs, Baker Mayfield says

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The Minnesota Vikings will try to avoid an 0-2 start on Thursday night when they play the defending conference champion Philadelphia Eagles.

The Vikings lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, 20-17, even as star wide receiver Justin Jefferson racked up nine catches for 150 yards. However, if Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is proven to be right, the team might have a big issue they have to fix ahead of the Philadelphia matchup.

Mayfield suggested Wednesday he could read the Vikings’ signals. He was asked if he could get a government job with his detective prowess.

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Baker Mayfield, #6 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, looks for the handoff against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sept. 10, 2023 in Minneapolis. (Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)

"I know I'm in Tampa, but I'm a Texas Rangers fan, not a Houston Astros fan, so we're not going to condone that," Mayfield said.

The quarterback appeared to reference the Astros’ cheating scandal that broke in 2019. The Astros were caught using signals to relay to a batter what kind of pitch was coming when they went on to win the World Series during the 2017 season. The scandal resulted in the suspensions of then-general manager Jeff Luhnow and then-manager A.J. Hinch.

"When it comes down to that, you're always trying to find tendencies in the defense – just those in-game adjustments [where] you're trying to find those tendencies. Sometimes it's a little different than others," Mayfield added. "That's why, like I said postgame, it was a chess match in the first half. We kind of had some stall-out drives. They did a very, very