Chris Godwin With NextGen Stats’ “Incredible YAC”
July 2nd, 2025
Had one of 2024’s top plays.
Chris Godwin wasn’t supposed to do this.
But as a Bucs fan, Joe has learned that Godwin is capable of making big plays from any corner of the field. One such play came against the slimy Saints on the road last season.
This same play qualified for one of the top NextGen Stats’ “Incredible YAC” plays. Incredible because Godwin should have been tackled for a modest gain.
Instead, he broke loose for a 55-yard touchdown that broke the game open for the Bucs and broke the back of the slimy Saints in a 51-27 beatdown.
What a fun Sunday that was!
Late in the third quarter Godwin took a short pass near the right sideline from Baker Mayfield. He looked like he was going to be stopped for maybe a nine-yard gain. Instead, Godwin blew up the right sideline, dodged several tackles and scored from 55 yards out.
NextGen Stats had that play as the No. 13 “Incredible YAC” play of the season. It all has to do with expected yards and other gibberish.
What is clear is how that play greatly impacted the game. The Bucs took a 31-27 lead on that Godwin play and never looked back.
Joe hates to type the following but Joe wonders if we will ever see Godwin make that kind of play again? The very next game against the Crows, Godwin destroyed his ankle.
It’s unknown when he will get back on a football field.
CHRIS GODWIN OFF TO THE RACES
đź“ş: #TBvsNO on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/EQOnPtCcfO— NFL (@NFL) October 13, 2024
July 2nd, 2025 at 10:39 am
I remember that play, I remember that game.
That was a bit more fun than the Broncos game.
July 2nd, 2025 at 10:51 am
Terrible tackling, but Godwin was off to an All Pro start last season. I believe he’ll be back early, then full strength by end of year!
July 2nd, 2025 at 10:53 am
Nice job by 14. Also a reminder of what a clown show Dennis Allen was.
July 2nd, 2025 at 10:57 am
“Joe wonders if we will ever see Godwin make that kind of play again?”
Probably not this year…. but I’ll take an 85-90% Chris Godwin over a lot of other WRs in this league.
#14 was phenomenal and easily among the top 3 receivers in the NFL through the first 7 games of 2024.
July 2nd, 2025 at 11:11 am
Great play but such poor tackling by the Saints on that. They did not look like pro’s.
July 2nd, 2025 at 11:15 am
CG will be back and as good as he always was. Reliable hands and good route running is what makes CG a good WR.
July 2nd, 2025 at 11:26 am
Ah yes… the 3 interception game which didn’t really mean jack squat by the final tally of 51 points scored. Of course I don’t like them but you got to let a gun slinger sling.
BTW, Peyton Manning had 20 games of 3 interceptions. Was Peyton Manning a good QB?
July 2nd, 2025 at 11:35 am
All for Godwin on that play.
But put that on the other side and if that were Buc’s defenders. We would be picking out each guy that missed or took a bad angle on that play.
Good on Godwin’s part. Just horrible on the Saints end.
July 2nd, 2025 at 12:31 pm
“Ah yes… the 3 interception game which didn’t really mean jack squat by the final tally of 51 points scored. Of course I don’t like them but you got to let a gun slinger sling.”
Our defense forced 3 turnovers and added 7 of those 51 points. Has nothing to do with “gunslinging” and more to do with equalizing what would otherwise be turnovers that would’ve eroded our win probability. This was game 2 of a 4 game stretch we turned the ball over 9 times in 4 games and went 1-3 in that span.
Furthermore, nobody in the Milky Way galaxy is confusing Baker Mayfield for Peyton Manning.
July 2nd, 2025 at 1:01 pm
You are right about not confusing Manning and baker.
Manning was much worse in the sb 50 season than baker is now.
Thats the beauty of a team sport., that defense was elite. If tampa had that d last year with our offense, we would be undefeated.
July 2nd, 2025 at 1:17 pm
godwin + evans has been a treat to watch all these years….two lethal receivers….
July 2nd, 2025 at 1:26 pm
Maybe it’s improved this year.
July 2nd, 2025 at 1:26 pm
Bakerfan — A pet peeve of mine has been all those Jameis fans that compared Jameis to Peyton Manning and the interceptions.
Really the fair comparisons are to quarterbacks exactly in the years that the QB is playing.
Using historical comparisons to today’s current standards there are currently 10 QBs better than Peyton Manning and 20 QBs better than Brett Favre and Troy Aikman and 40 QBs better than Johnny Unitas.
Bakers had two wonderful years for the Bucs. Don’t take todays ability to complete passes and score so easily in the passing game as making Baker better than the greats of the past. It is just not so.
If he has a great career compared to today’s competition at QB, he will be a 1st ballot HOF like Peyton Manning. Right now, he is a ridiculously long way from Peyton Manning.
July 2nd, 2025 at 2:49 pm
Nothing like a comparison to bring the Haters out. I pity you fools.
July 2nd, 2025 at 3:02 pm
That’s all Liam. Be very careful folks. Godwin is severely injured and will begin the season on the IR. Liam is gone. All the great scheming went with him to Jax. You’re looking at a 9 win team here.
July 2nd, 2025 at 3:31 pm
BakerFan. Like I said — make comparisons all day long.
Just make them to same generations.
There is a reason Peyton was a 1st ballot HOF. Really enough said.
So, who is really being foolish. Might want to look in the mirror.
July 2nd, 2025 at 3:44 pm
Godwin’s ankle was destroyed by scumbag dirty player Roquan Smith and he deserves reciprocity.
July 2nd, 2025 at 4:22 pm
And thats the main reason i was hoping we would draft a wr high. I was calling for 2nd rd but the guy i wanted went way before we wouldve picked. Jason one upped me and hit it with our first. And apparently EE was sought after because trade up calls from some receiver needy teams stopped once we got him. Hes gonna be great while Godwin takes all the time he needs to heal the right way.
July 2nd, 2025 at 4:47 pm
Mike and Chris Godwin are some of the best ever. I am interested in watching Tez J. this year. He is going to be to receiving what Bucky was to the running game. They are the same height only TJ is a little lighter which won’t matter because he won’t be taking the punishment Bucky does. They are the same speed and quickness and Tez is uncatchable in the open 1 on 1. If they get him where he is 1 on 1 he is going to be awful fun to watch. If he does work out like that and Bucky has another year like last, wow!! I bet Grizzards mind is going non-stop running all the possible schemes he could run with this group he has at his disposal. #1 scoring offense in ’25!!!
July 2nd, 2025 at 5:11 pm
Who is it that has the rookie record for TD in 14 games all while playing on a team that hadn’t won a game in 26 years before he arrived? Oh that’s right it’s Bake Mayfield. Who finished in the top 4 in heisman voting for 3 year in a row and won it his senior year? Only done by 2 other athletes. Yes thats BM also. And who has been voted twice as the best college qb of the 21st century by ESPN? Darn, that’s right slow a** Baker Mayfield again. I could go and on but it wouldn’t matter to these haters. Just know this Baker Mayfield is a whole lot better than these people will ever give him credit for. He is the one with the records, the heisman and the vote. No one else, just Baker Mayfield and he is NO where near finished with his NFL career.
July 2nd, 2025 at 6:20 pm
Well, nobody in the Andromeda galaxy would ever say Baker Mayfield isn’t at least comparable to Peyton Manning and I love Peyton Manning. To say something like that is one of the most unambiguously moronic comments I’ve ever heard. Time will be the judge and Baker just got his second wind and he is in his prime right now. He has 6-8 to finally be in a good organization.
It’s kind of like what you haters said about comparing Baker to Mahomes back in 2023. Oh that was blasphemy!! But yet for the last 2 years, Mahomes for the first time in his advantageous career, hasn’t had a top 5 OL and it certainly shows. Baker has played considerably better than him but 2 years ago, Oh you can’t say that you said. Time will tell boys. Time will tell.m
July 2nd, 2025 at 9:16 pm
Davyboy.
Some of us don’t watch college football. This is a pro football site.
If you want to say that Baker is the best college football player and/or a better college football player than Peyton Manning, so be it.
In pro football, no need to say that Baker is better than Mahomes. Mahomes worst seasons have been ridiculously better than Bakers worst seasons.
In theory to get to Peyton Manning level he (Baker) has to be better than Allen and Jackson and Burrow.
If you are counting on time to make your argument, so be it. However, Manning already has in his time shown year in and year out that he was a great QB. Not for 2 years of pro ball but clearly 15 years of pro ball.
Love Baker – 6 times the player of the week in 7 seasons.
But Manning – 37 times the player of the week. 5 MVP seasons. 3 times finishing 2nd in the league in MVP.
It is not hating to say that Baker is a far cry from Peyton Manning. Either you did not watch, or you forgot how Manning changed the game as much as any quarterback with his changes of plays at the line of scrimmage. He revolutionized pro football in that way.
But thanks for the debate. If you want to debate further – I’m up for it.
July 2nd, 2025 at 10:04 pm
geno711, Allen and Jackson both were drafted along with Baker in the first round of the 2018 draft. Mahommes and Burrow bookended that 2018 draft. All 4 absolutely improved their teams. All 4 are still with those teams. Only Mahomes is a Super Bowl winner. Mayfield has to play 5th chair in the group. He improved his team ( the Browns). Must have shocked him to get replaced. But he’s stuck with it. Now, since he stuck with it, and since Allen, Jackson and Burrow haven’t won a Super Bowl, he’s in perfect position to leapfrog all but Mahomes by winning a Super Bowl this year. Of course Baker isn’t even in a Manning comparison. He’s capable of winning games and hanging gaudy numbers. But can he do it for 7 or 8 more years? We’ll just have to see. Go Bucs!
July 2nd, 2025 at 10:19 pm
But this story is about Chris Godwin. And Joe, “It’s unknown when he will get back on a football field.” I am going to expect him back opening day unless I get some inside information from my crack reporters to the contrary. And you guys have reported he should be back opening day. I will believe anything else is speculation. Until you guys report otherwise.
July 2nd, 2025 at 10:56 pm
This was all before his injury.
July 2nd, 2025 at 11:42 pm
Debate huh. I’m quite sure college bleeds over into pro ball no matter what you say it does, first off. Just because Baker dominated college and you don’t like it, doesn’t erase that fact. I’ve read an awful lot of post talking about college, I guess they didn’t get your memo that it’s not fitting here. Second, NO ONE said Baker was better. I’ll say this and save a very long post. People like you just see what is easy to see. You refuse to see how hard Cleveland is on quarterbacks. Baker took that organization kicking and screaming from 35 losses out of 36 to 11-5 and if not for the worst no call targeting hit, Cleveland would have beaten Kansas City and Mahomes that day and that’s a fact and it would have been Cleveland in the superbowl that year. I don’t think Peyton ever did that. In fact, I’m not sure any quarterback has ever done that. Then compare Watsons experience at Cleveland. He was top 5 before Cleveland. That place chewed him up and spit him out. But Baker thrived. I think I’ll end it here since I have already proved Bakers ability to unambiguously raise a sinking ship of an organization that hadn’t been to a playoff win since before he was born. But I guess in your mind all the quaterbacks have done that huh?? Sit back and watch. Oh, yeah, one last thought, try having 9 OC’s in 8 years. Mahomes has had 2. It all matters but I know….you can’t see it.
July 3rd, 2025 at 1:13 am
PRE INJURY
Hate these articles…he has a long ways to go…this isn’t fair to Chris TBH
PRE INJURY
July 3rd, 2025 at 3:01 am
As far as Mahomes and Baker are concerned, Baker beat him twice in college. Oh, I apologize, I said college. They have played 3 times in the NFL. 2 of those hung on “A” call. Both calls were wrong and changed the outcome of the game. Mahomes has had every advantage afforded him in his pro career. On the other hand Baker has had just about every disadvantage a quarterback could have. Let’s start with Mahomes’ OL. He has had some of the best OL’s year in and year out. These last 2 years he hasn’t had that privilege and anyone can see his game has suffered. His OL’s pass protection has particularly suffered and so has his game. Baker finally gets with a good organization and OC’s and miraculously has 2 career seasons. Everybody’s surprised… well maybe not everybody.
So if his game goes down because his pass protection drops down to where most quarterbacks have to play with their whole career, what would he have done playing for Cleveland? Mmmm We will never know, but we do know if the referees would have made the obviously correct call, Baker would have been the ONLY quarterback in history to take a team that was 0-16 to a superbowl 3 years later. In fact, no quarterback has done it out to 10 years later. Im sure you will say, well it didn’t happen and you would be right. But it most assurdly would have happened. The internet and football analysts still talk about how ridiculously bad that no call was. When a player uses his helmets crown to hit the helmet of another it’s a penalty. But for some strange reason, on that day, they chose not to make the call. Strange…
July 3rd, 2025 at 5:10 am
Loved seeing that play again. Would be great to see the dynamic duo Evans and Godwin doing their thing this season. Hoping for the best of the best. Go Bucs!
July 3rd, 2025 at 8:44 am
Davyboy – Thanks for continuing the dialogue.
College to me IMO means very little in relationship to the pros — other than when you get drafted. It is a clean slate after that.
Didn’t Paul Finebaum (sp) just say that Tim Tebow is the best college football player of all time. Whether you 100 percent agree with Finebaum on that or not – Tebow does not even make the top 500 football players in the seasons he played in the NFL.
But yes, you are welcome to continue your college comparison as is your right. And I will continue to say that it matters very little.
Next point, any time you like.
I don’t mind you having an excuse for Baker that he has had different coordinators. However, for me the greatest players in NFL history – of which Manning is in that group. Succeed no matter who their coordinators might be
July 3rd, 2025 at 8:50 am
Kenton.
I am with you. I hope Baker surpasses Burrow, Allen and Jackson this year by winning the Super Bowl!
My first point to you was the comparison to Manning. Again, on this site there is this huge error anytime a Bucs quarterback has a bad year of high interceptions of fans making that ill comparison to Manning.
Let’s part with Baker is very capable of climbing the success ladder and if he continues these statistically significantly seasons with a trip to or better yet, a win in the Super Bowl – it adds to what seems to be an underrating of who he is today but many.
July 3rd, 2025 at 10:37 am
813, I would “think” you would really know the difference in a reason vs. an excuse. As far as the analyst you referred to, he has been wrong too many times to count, as most are, but what they do pays the bills.. However I do agree with you that once you are in the NFL it is a new day and that’s what matters, what you do there, discussing college in a limited way to me gives valuable contexr to the subject. I can agree totally with your last comments.
Go Bucs this is our year!!!
July 4th, 2025 at 5:00 am
I think you meant to write
“Before Roquan Smith and the dirty Ravens destroyed Chris Godwins ankle”