TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — It’s not always pretty, but Baker Mayfield is getting the job done for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The three-time defending NFC South champions are off to another strong start, with Mayfield leading the way.

The 29-year-old quarterback, who’s revived his career since becoming Tom Brady’s successor in Tampa Bay, enters Sunday’s home game against struggling rookie QB Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos going for an eighth victory in his team's past nine regular-season outings.

Mayfield's passer rating of 129.1 is the second highest in the NFL through two games. His 33 touchdown passes since joining the Bucs last season are the third most in the league over that span.

“For me, this is what I wanted. This is the group that (I wanted). Taking a chance to come here, understanding the pieces that I had and the potential that this group could have,” said Mayfield, who bounced from Cleveland to Carolina to the Los Angeles Rams before signing a one-year deal with Tampa Bay after Brady retired.

“For me, there (were) a lot of low moments last year, so it could have even been better,” Mayfield added. “It’s never about the individual stats anyway, it’s just about trying to find ways to win. It’s been awesome so far.”

Coach Todd Bowles is not surprised that Mayfield, who signed a three-year, $100 million contract after leading the Bucs to the divisional round of last season's playoffs, has been able to handle the pressure of following Brady.

“The biggest thing he did was not try to be Tom, and the biggest thing we did was not want him to be Tom. The schemes have changed since Tom was here, the players have changed since Tom was here. Baker is his own guy,” Bowles said.

“I keep saying, ‘Nobody’s ever going to be Tom.’ You know, you put his shoes on the shelf, and you buy a new pair, and you break them in, and Baker (has) come in and he’s picked up the system well,” Bowles added. “The guys have gravitated around him; he has a place he calls home, we trust him, he trusts us, and he’s fit in very well here.”

Mayfield tossed four TD passes in a Week 1 win over Washington. He threw for one and ran for another while leading the team in rushing in last week’s 20-16 road win at Detroit.

Broncos coach Sean Payton is impressed with the way Mayfield has turned his career around.

“It’s happened maybe three or four times with first-rounders and three or four times with second-rounders. I remember doing that study prior to signing (QB) Zach (Wilson),” Payton said. “He’s tough and he’s competitive. He loves playing football.”

Handling rookie QBs

The Bucs spoiled the pro debut of No. 2 overall draft pick Jayden Daniels, shutting down the rookie quarterback in their Week 1 rout of the Commanders. Since Bowles arrived in Tampa Bay as defensive coordinator in 2019, his defense is 11-5 against rookie QBs.

Denver's Bo Nix was the 12th pick in this year's draft. He has struggled mightily in losses to Seattle and Pittsburgh the past two weeks. He enters Sunday with zero touchdown passes and four interceptions, two in each of his starts.

Bowles said the Bucs are preparing for the entire Broncos offense, not Nix.

“If you just look at one guy, you’re going to get killed in this league," Bowles said. "(Rookie QBs) all have a skill set and a lot of them went in the first round. They’re very good football players. If you don’t look at the team, you’re going to get killed anyway.”

Better off?

The Broncos have struggled on offense ever since benching Russell Wilson for the final two games last season. Jarrett Stidham went 1-1 in his place. The Broncos’ scoring average has dipped from 21.7 points per game with Wilson to 14.0 without him and their offensive output has fallen from 330 yards on average to 282.

The Broncos have just two touchdowns with Nix at the helm, and Payton is contemplating simplifying things a bit by reducing the number of personnel groupings he’s been using.

“I think reducing the variables can help,” Payton said. “It’s something that I think you have to look at as a coach. You have to start, ‘All right, what could we do better?’ I think that’s one of the things that we’ve talked about quite a bit. How do we reduce the variables, and then who’s doing it? Those two things I would point to.”

Bring the heat

Nix, who grew up in Alabama, figures to be in his element in the warm Florida weather.

“I love it. I think that’s one thing I am actually looking forward to getting back to,” Nix said. “I think it’s kind of strange because it’s going to be hot and humid, and it’s going to be uncomfortable for most. I think, especially quarterback, when you get in the game, you start feeling the effects of the humidity and temperature, I think that’s when it’s kind of like high school football all over again. I’m excited for that. I think it’s going to play a not necessarily a huge role in the game, but I’m excited to get back to it.”

Denver (0-2) at Tampa Bay (2-0)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, FOX

BetMGM NFL Odds: Buccaneers by 6 1/2.

Series record: Broncos lead 7-3

Against the spread: Broncos 1-1, Buccaneers 2-0

Last meeting: Buccaneers beat Broncos 28-10 at Denver on Sept. 27, 2020.

Last week: Broncos lost to Steelers 13-6; Buccaneers beat Lions 20-16.

Broncos offense: overall (29), rush (27), pass (21), scoring (30)

Broncos defense: overall (9), rush (23), pass (4), scoring (10t)

Buccaneers offense: overall (19), rush (24), pass (13), scoring (4)

Buccaneers defense: overall (28), rush (19), pass (29), scoring (6t)

Turnover differential: Broncos, minus 3; Buccaneers, plus-1.

Broncos player to watch

Rookie quarterback Bo Nix has thrown a whopping 77 passes so far, third most in the league over the season’s first two weeks. Coach Sean Payton would like to take some pressure off Nix, but Denver’s ground game is almost nonexistent. Nix has scrambled for 35 and 25 yards in his two starts and both of those figures led the Broncos in rushing in losses to Seattle and Pittsburgh.

Bucs player to watch

WR Chris Godwin is off to a terrific start, ranking second in the NFL in receptions (15) and receiving yards (200) through Week 2. He’s tied for first with two touchdown catches. The eighth-year pro has been especially good on third down, with a league-leading seven catches for 99 yards. Six of those receptions have resulted in first downs.

Key matchup

Bucs defense against Nix. Tampa Bay beat No. 2 overall draft pick Jayden Daniels in Week 1 and is 11-5 against rookie QBs since coach Todd Bowles joined the Bucs as defensive coordinator in 2019.

Key injuries

Broncos: RT Mike McGlinchey (knee), who signed a five-year, $87.5 million contract last season, went on IR this week and will miss at least four games. Undrafted second-year tackle Alex Palczewski will get his first NFL start Sunday. … Rookie RB Audric Estime is also on IR with an ankle injury. … The Broncos are banged up on defense with three starters — OLB Baron Browning (foot), DL John Franklin-Myers (concussion) and S Brandon Jones (foot) — missing practice time during the week along with special teams ace JL Skinner (ankle). ... Buccaneers: NT Vita Vea (knee) is day to day after leaving the second half of last week’s win at Detroit. Three other starters — DL Calijah Kancey (calf), RT Luke Goedeke and S Antoine Winfield Jr. (foot) remain on the injury report after missing last week’s game.

Series notes

The Broncos have won seven of 10 meetings, including victories in four of the past five. ... The Bucs haven’t beaten Denver in Tampa since 1999.

Stats and stuff

QB Bo Nix has zero touchdown throws and four interceptions so far, two in each of his starts. He leads all rookie QBs with 46 completions. … In 20 drives (excluding end of half) under Nix so far, the Broncos have just two field goals and two touchdowns to go with 11 punts, three interceptions and two turnovers on downs. … WR Josh Reynolds led the Broncos with 94 yards receiving last week. … LB Alex Singleton led the team with 11 tackles against the Steelers. The previous time he faced Tampa Bay in 2021 while with the Eagles, Singleton had 15 tackles and a pass breakup. ... DE Zach Allen had four QB hits last week and has five for the season. … Rookie OLB Jonah Elliss had two tackles for loss and his first career sack last week. ... Tampa Bay is off to a 4-0 start for the fourth straight season. They’ve gone on to win the NFC South each of the past three years. … A win over the Broncos would give the Bucs a 3-0 start for just the fifth time. The others were 1979, 1997, 2000 and 2005. … QB Baker Mayfield has five TD passes vs. one interception through two games. … In three games vs. the Broncos, Mayfield has thrown for 691 yards, five TDs and one interception. … Kicker Chase McLaughlin has converted 23 consecutive regular-season field-goal attempts. … WR Mike Evans needs three points to pass Martin Gramatica (592) to become Tampa Bay’s career scoring leader.

Fantasy tip

After a relatively quiet performance (three receptions, 42 yards) on the road at Detroit last Sunday, Evans is back home, where he had two TDs receiving in Tampa Bay's Week 1 win over Washington. In his past 10 home games, Evans has 1,091 yards receiving and 12 TDs. He had a pair of TD catches when he last faced the Broncos in 2020.

Colorado returns to Big 12 league play with homecoming game versus Baylor on what may be rainy night

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Baylor (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) at Colorado (2-1, 0-0), Saturday, 8 p.m. ET (Fox)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Colorado by 1 1/2.

Series record: Colorado leads 9-7.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

It seems fitting that homecoming weekend in Boulder on Saturday coincides with the Buffaloes making their return to Big 12 play. Colorado left the conference following the 2010 season to join the Pac-12 and came back this season. The last time Colorado faced Baylor on the football field was Oct. 16, 2010, when Robert Griffin III led the Bears to a 31-25 win in Boulder. The Buffaloes are coming off a 28-9 win over Colorado State in which Shedeur Sanders threw four TD passes. The Bears beat Air Force 31-3 in a game where they went with quarterback Sawyer Robertson in relief of starter Dequan Finn. Colorado coach Deion Sanders made a big deal in his weekly news conference about rain in the forecast and whether his team will work on wet-ball drills. At the time, there was around a 30% chance of rain and Sanders said: “We're not going to take time out in practice to do a drill based on something that may not happen.” The weather report for Saturday night now includes a strong possibility of rain, maybe even heavy at times.

KEY MATCHUP

Shedeur Sanders vs. Baylor's stingy defense. Sanders has thrown for 999 yards and nine TDs this season, with his top target two-way standout Travis Hunter (30 catches, 342 yards, five touchdowns). Behind the defensive play calling of head coach Dave Aranda, the Bears have posted two games this season where they've allowed only a field goal. They lead the nation in passing defense.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Baylor: The QB depth chart for the Bears lists Robertson or Finn. That's why the Buffaloes are preparing for both. Finn has thrown for 2,000 or more yards and rushed for 500-plus yards in three straight seasons. He has 307 yards passing and 26 yards rushing this season.

Colorado: Freshman running back Micah Welch gave the ground game a boost last weekend against the Rams with 65 yards, including a 25-yard scamper. He has two of Colorado's three rushes for 15 or more yards this season. The Buffaloes are averaging 61.3 yards a game on the ground.

FACTS & FIGURES

The Bears have won three of the last four games in the series. ... Since Aranda took over, the Bears have been one of the least-penalized teams. Last season, Baylor led the Big 12 in fewest penalty yards per game. ... Of the 13 FBS QBs who threw four or more touchdown passes in the third week of the season four were from the Big 12, including Sanders. ... Sanders has 999 career completions. ... Hunter earned Big 12 defensive player of the week honors after finishing with five tackles, one pass breakup and an interception against Colorado State. ... The Buffaloes are 4-2-1 all-time playing on Sept. 21. ...The last time Colorado beat Baylor was 2007.