Warning: Cleveland Browns’ Baker Mayfield on track for 44-plus sacks
By Mike Lukas
The Cleveland Browns have a great new quarterback in Baker Mayfield but they need to beware that he’s taking far too many hits right now
Careful Cleveland Browns, your awesome new toy’s gonna get broken.
You’ve won twice so far this season with rookie Baker Mayfield under center. As we all know, that’s two more wins than last year and twice as many as you’ve won over the last two seasons altogether.
Mayfield is obviously invaluable to the team, and yet you let other teams throw him around like a sack of soggy Brett Favre’s.
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And speaking of sacks…
In the 2.5 games that Mayfield’s played in, he’s been sacked a total of 8 times already.
Let’s do the seasonal math on that.
He’s been sacked (8/2.5) = 3.2 times per game.
If he’s healthy – and at this rate, he very well may not be for long – Mayfield has 11 more 2018 games to go.
That means that if the Browns offensive line continues its open door policy, he’ll be sacked 11 x 3.2 = 35.2 more times this season for a grand total of 43.2 sacks.
How bad is that, exactly?
Well, it would have put him in the top-five most sacked quarterbacks of 2017.
Says NFL.com, these were the top five most-sacked quarterbacks last season:
1. Jacoby Brissett – 52
2. Matthew Stafford – 47
3. Tyrod Taylor – 46
4. Russell Wilson – 43
5. Kirk Cousins – 41
That means Mayfield’s 43.2 sacks would have been right up there between Taylor and Wilson.
Baker’s a tough kid, no doubt, but come on, Browns, please take better care of him.
You’ve been through 29 starting quarterbacks since 1999, and now you’ve finally found your franchise man. Don’t ruin it by letting so many NFL quarterback hunters have their merry way with him.
Please don’t trust one little roughing rule change to keep your precious new laser-armed, scrambling and marching toy safe.
Browns players and fans are counting on you Desmond Harrison, Joel Bitonio, JC Tretter, Kevin Zeitler, and Chris Hubbard, to protect Baker Mayfield just a little bit better than you have been. No offense, offense.
All it takes to break a valuable toy is to snap one of its moving parts, and then it’s off to the land of misfits it goes.
dark. Next. Studs and duds from Week 5 win
Please don’t let that happen to your 30th new toy in 19 seasons Browns, because this one’s definitely a keeper.