Baker Mayfield back under the microscope for Browns vs. Eagles

Baker Mayfield can’t take a backseat in the Browns offense against the Eagles.

If you were just looking at the box score for the Cleveland Browns over their past two games against the Raiders and Texans, you would wonder what’s up with quarterback Baker Mayfield. In Weeks 8 and 10 (games split by the bye week), Mayfield is just 24-of-45 for 254 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. That, indeed, might look quite concerning.

However, the Browns are still 1-1 over that stretch. But more importantly, Cleveland has needed Mayfield to do exactly what he’s done in those two games, namely not make mistakes and hand the ball off, because of the circumstances at hand.

The last two games in Cleveland have been played in tremendously terrible weather. The wind has been whipping at around 20 miles per hour in both games and the passing game has been a less than desirable option. Subsequently, Mayfield protecting the football, checking down and not throwing a ton has been by design.

But now as the Browns welcome the Philadelphia Eagles to FirstEnergy Stadium in Week 11, that has to change. If Cleveland is going to move to 7-3 on the season and keep improving their playoff positioning, Baker Mayfield has to take up a bigger role than he has recently.

The Browns need Baker Mayfield to be a leader to beat Philly in Week 11.

For starters, the simple truth is that the weather isn’t going to be a detriment for Sunday’s game in Cleveland. Mercifully, the wind should be blowing at under 10 miles per hour for the matchup against the Eagles, which simply makes passing more plausible for both teams.

Beyond that, though, the game script is going to call for Mayfield to throw the ball. The Browns bread and butter remains to hand the ball off to Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. That, however, is not feasible to beat the Eagles in most weeks. Philadelphia’s run defense, especially of late, has been a brick wall.

As such, to both create room for the rushing attack to operate and to consistently move the ball, Mayfield is going to have to throw the ball quite a bit in Week 11. The third-year quarterback has a strong matchup for him as the Eagles secondary is susceptible outside of Darius Slay and the middle of the defense can be exploited consistently given Philly’s weak linebackers.

The key, however, is that Mayfield must continue to play smart football. While his numbers of late have been unimpressive, what has been impressive is the lack of turnovers. He’s been careful and smart, which is not always the case. Even with more attempts and more focus on him making plays, that’s something that must continue.

Baker Mayfield has not been a superstar in 2020 but he’s been better than he gets credit for. Yet, the debate will wage on about whether or not he’s the answer long-term for the Browns. This matchup against Philadelphia, one in which he’ll be asked and needed to throw quite a bit for the team to succeed, is an opportunity for him to step up and answer some serious questions.