Baker Mayfield renews faith in shootout Browns win

Baker Mayfield looked the part of a leader in the Browns thrilling Week 7 win.

Despite the Cleveland Browns sitting at 4-2 coming into a Week 7 matchup with the rival Bengals, quarterback Baker Mayfield was in the crosshairs of fans and the media once again. After a pedestrian first five games of the season, the third-year signal-caller was benched in a blowout loss to the Steelers last week as he dealt with a rib injury. In fact, many speculated that it was reckless of Mayfield and the team for him to play in that game at all.

And through one quarter of action against Cincinnati, it appeared that Mayfield’s issues weren’t going anywhere. Through 15 minutes of play, the former No. 1 overall pick was 0-for-5 with an interception while his team trailed 7-3. Then the switch flipped.

Even with high-profile wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. leaving the game with a reportedly serious knee injury, Mayfield was almost perfect the rest of the way. In the final three periods, the quarterback was 22-of-23 for 297 yards with five touchdowns. That included a string of beautiful throws to complete a game-winning touchdown drive with only 1:06 left on the clock.

For the first time in quite a while, Mayfield looked like the player we saw in his record-breaking rookie season. More importantly, it happened when the Browns needed it most.

This is what the Cleveland Browns need from Baker Mayfield.

When Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are both healthy, there’s no question that Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski wants to be a run-first team and that the club can be successful doing that. But with Chubb out and in games where the defense is struggling, such as the Week 7 matchup with Cincinnati, Mayfield has to be a playmaker.

Even playing through what some are reporting is a cracked rib — a notoriously painful injury — Mayfield was confident in the pocket and in the face of pressure. He was quick, decisive and accurate when asked to throw and he spread the ball around. In essence, he was the player that he was drafted to be.

Admittedly, this did come against a Bengals defense that is not good. However, it’s an extremely positive sign from a quarterback who has looked uncomfortable regardless of the opponent at many points throughout the past two seasons. This was a game that Mayfield and his coaches can look back at the film on and simply say “do more of this.”

Largely because of Baker Mayfield, the Cleveland Browns would make the playoffs if the season ended after Week 7. Sitting at 5-2 on the year, they need their quarterback to not replicate this heroic outing but to build off of it as the team enters the back-half of the regular-season schedule.