Baker Mayfield’s debut in relief represented more than just hope for the Cleveland Browns, but gave their fans a taste of how normal fan bases process offensive mistakes.
For nearly two decades, the Cleveland Browns offense has operated on egg shells — the slightest mistake, a drop, a penalty, a turnover would feel like the end of the world and the offender eviscerated, because the team simply couldn’t afford them.
The lone exception was the 2007 season when, despite having players prone to mistakes like Braylon Edwards dropping passes or Derek Anderson throwing inaccurate passes and interceptions, the offense was potent enough that they could get past those mistakes and put up points and wins in bunches.
When Baker Mayfield took the field against the New York Jets, that feeling vanished the second he started rolling. Despite three dropped passes, a pair of fumbles and a pass that probably should’ve been intercepted, a miscue was a speed bump rather than a sink hole. They were going to have a shot to make a play, keep the drive going and score points. Not only did they do that, it resulted in a win.
That feeling was palpable. The confidence was real. Fate, luck, momentum, whatever mystical force a person subscribes, the Browns seemed to have it in their favor and the Jets seemed to be on their heels on both sides of the ball once Mayfield entered the game.
He wasn’t perfect, but for a rookie quarterback that was inserted into his first game in the second quarter after an injury to Tyrod Taylor, he was magnificent. 17-of-23 for 201 yards, leading the Browns to all of their 21 points, the Browns for one night showcased what this franchise is hoping to be for the next decade.
Baker Mayfield starts the game, puts the Browns in position to win it and Myles Garrett is the closer, able to take down the opposing quarterback and seal victory, which he did on the penultimate play of the game before the interception by Terrance Mitchell.
That pressure, that dread, the feeling that everything had to go right for the Browns offense was gone. No one was dwelling on the three drops. People were too engrossed in seeing what Mayfield would do next, finding receivers all over the field, delivering touch passes and pinpoint key hole throws, extending plays and just making things happen, making his teammates better. It was just like watching him play at Oklahoma.
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The players were bigger, stronger and faster, but it felt like he was in almost total control and could do anything. But he was doing it for the Browns, a team that has been waiting for that type of ability since Tim Couch.
Mayfield looked totally in control. He largely knew what to expect and what to do about it. He made throws on time and in rhythm while also showing the ability to improvise and make a play that didn’t seem to be there.
According to Todd Bowles, the very capable Jets defense watched tape of Mayfield and were preparing for him in addition to Taylor. In most circumstances, he was just up to the task and able to beat them. Mayfield had his share of rookie moments, but the vast majority of the time, he was a franchise quarterback.
It wasn’t just the fact the Browns won the game that had Northeast Ohio in a frenzy. It was the way they won. Mayfield entered the game when the Browns are down 14-0 with 1:23 left in the second quarter and immediately hit a 14-yard pass to Jarvis Landry, then completed a 17-yarder to David Njoku.
His impact was immediate and the quarterback they had invested so much hope into when they selected him first overall after suffering through 1-31 looked every bit the part of a franchise signal caller. And with help from a defense that only gave up a field goal the rest of the game, he brought them back, leading them to 18 second half points that culminated in a 2-point conversion Mayfield caught from Landry.
To borrow a phrase that any “Little” would recognize, the Cleveland Browns have entered an “era of unbridled enthusiasm” where anything seems possible. The game against the Jets wrote like a cheesy movie script, but given what this fanbase has had to endure the past two seasons, it was more than welcome.
It remains to be seen if this is simply a moment or if this is who Baker Mayfield is going to be for the Browns and this is one great games over the course of a great career in Cleveland. But for one night, Mayfield was everything this fanbase had hoped for while breaking through an ugly winless streak, so if they want to spend the week and a half before the Browns and Mayfield take on the Oakland Raiders enjoying the moment and imagining what could be, by all means. They deserve it.