As a quarterback at Austin’s Lake Travis High School, Baker Mayfield grew up idolising Brett Favre. On Sunday, he achieved something the Hall of Famer did not manage, and against the team Favre made his name with to boot.
In guiding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 34-20 win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, the 28-year-old became only the 67th quarterback in NFL history to record a perfect passer rating of 158.3 in a game as he threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns, completing 22 of 28 passes.
Up to this point, Lambeau in December had not been hunting ground for the Bucs signal-caller. He threw four interceptions in the Cleveland Browns' 24-22 Christmas Day loss to the Packers in 2021 and was the Los Angeles Rams' starter when they fell 24-12 last year.
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Yet despite being sacked five times and fumbling on his own four-yard line to set Green Bay up for a touchdown this time around, those woes were firmly put behind him as he steered the NFC South leaders to a crucial victory.
"The third time's a charm, that's for sure," Mayfield said.
"Just like we talked about, that playoff mentality, to come in here with one job in mind and find a way to win. We did that."
In some ways, that game was a microcosm of Mayfield's 2023 season, where he has repeatedly needed to prove the naysayers wrong after signing a cut-price one-year $4m contract with the Bucs in March after being released by the Rams following the conclusion of his short-term deal in LA.
Few expected the 2018 No 1 NFL Draft pick, now with his fourth NFL club, to be little more than a stopgap between Tom Brady retiring and the Buccaneers being able to potentially draft the future of the franchise ahead of the 2024 season.
But after a 2022 season which saw him traded to the Carolina Panthers from the Browns, be released after going 1-5 and then catch on with the Rams but not manage to earn an extended stay there, Sky Sports NFL expert Jason Bell believes Mayfield is showing he could have a long-term future in Florida.
"He's more than a bridge and it's because we believe in Baker," former NFL cornerback and safety Bell told Sky Sports. "He sets the tone.
"They talked about it when he got there, people liked him in the organisations, he galvanises the locker room, and we want to play for a guy like that.
"That's why he is a franchise quarterback. He might not be the best, but he should lead the franchise."
The victory over the Packers ensured the now 7-7 Buccaneers stayed top of the NFC South on tiebreakers from the New Orleans Saints, who they face at Raymond James Stadium in the penultimate game of the regular season on New Year's Eve.
If he were to oversee what at the start of the season might have seemed, to many outside observers, an improbable run to the playoffs then it would do Mayfield's chances of earning an extended stay in Tampa no harm at all.
For now though, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles could not be happier with what he is seeing from a player who has seemed revitalised following his off-season move.
"He's meant everything, from a mental standpoint to a quarterback standpoint making plays, from a toughness standpoint, from a leadership standpoint," Bowles said.
"He's done everything. He's checked all the boxes; he's doing all the right things now. I can't say enough about him."