For years, the Cleveland Browns have forced fans, media to squint to find even competent quarterback play. Baker Mayfield has ended that, so it’s okay to be honest when he plays poorly.
If a previous Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback had a stat line in a game like Baker Mayfield had against the Los Angeles Chargers — 22 for 46 for 238 yards, on touchdown, one interception — there would be people talking about how this was a step forward.
There would’ve been talk that this was an indication they could be a franchise quarterback if they had more weapons, better blocking, the weather cooperated, the sun wasn’t in his eyes, whatever, while Mayfield is heavily criticized for his performance, deservedly. That is the latest indication the Browns have found their franchise quarterback.
Baker Mayfield has played well enough coming out of the gate in is rookie year that he has created expectations. It’s never, well, he’s a rookie, so it’s okay he played poorly. It’s he played well, period.
When he falls short of those expectations, he gets criticized for it by fans and media. He’s been impressive enough that despite being a rookie, despite having a rookie left tackle and two rookie receivers, coming up with a bum ankle, Mayfield is taking blame for his performance. While some fans may see this as unfair, it’s great.
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No one wants to see Mayfield struggle and hopefully there aren’t a lot of these types of games the rest of this year where he’s making a pair of bad decisions leading to interceptions, taking a ton of sacks and just not looking particularly good. He struggled in this one.
Mayfield didn’t seem the same after coming up a little gimpy after stepping on the first down marker and it slipping under his foot. Without his full mobility, he didn’t seem as willing to trust his protection as normal, because he’s able to get out of trouble at times with his feet.
He held onto the ball too long at times, took hits he shouldn’t have and was unwilling to give up on plays that weren’t there. There were a couple forced throws and bad decisions, which have been uncharacteristic of Mayfield to this point and they resulted in interceptions and really put the game out of reach.
No need to sugar coat it. Mayfield didn’t. He’s never been one to make excuses. After his Oklahoma Sooners fell short in the College Football Playoff against Georgia, Mayfield didn’t blame being hurt, being ill all week or anything else. He put all of it on himself, as he truly expected more of himself. That was as a redshirt senior and Heisman Trophy winning quarterback in his final game as a collegiate athlete.
He had the same attitude in just his fourth regular season game in the NFL. Post-game, he said his foot wasn’t a problem, refusing to use it as an excuse. He also noted that he needed to do better for his offensive line and his receivers. While Mayfield does need to be better and improve from this game, it wasn’t all on him. That’s just how he operates.
The same kid that was knocked for being cocky, puts all the blame on himself, doesn’t make excuses or expect them from anyone else. It just drives him to be better, deliver the next time, so when he’s celebrating and being called cocky, he’s doing it with his teammates, since the Browns don’t have a band or student section.
Mayfield played poorly by his standard, but it wasn’t all bad. He still showed off the ability to make jaw-dropping passes and find holes in the defense. It wasn’t paid off enough in this particular game and receivers weren’t able to make all the plays one would hope, but the impression is indelible. Mayfield may have been bad on Sunday, but he’s really, really good and it’s not going to take long for him to be one of the best in the league.
There’s no need to hide from when Baker Mayfield plays poorly, because it should become increasingly infrequent. He’s already set a standard and isn’t asking anyone to lower it. Since he entered the game against the New York Jets and led the Browns to a win, the ‘era of unbridled enthusiasm’ and it’s not going to end anytime soon. Now imagine being this honest about any other rookie quarterback the Browns have had the past two decades. That’s how you know this kid is special.