Cleveland Browns: Studs and duds in fate-sealing Week 17 loss

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CINCINNATI, OHIO – DECEMBER 29: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns is sacked by Sam Hubbard #94 of the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on December 29, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Stud: Baker Mayfield

This game was ugly. There’s no way around that. Cleveland struggled in every facet of the game.

The blocking wasn’t there on offense which led to a poor performance in the running game and very little time for Baker Mayfield to operate. And he found himself needing to drop back and pass it often as well due to the defense’s inability to stop the Bengals.

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With Cincinnati knowing he was going to pass, they were able to pin their ears back and get after No. 6. It was rare to see a snap where he wasn’t under duress, but he didn’t give up just because it was tough.

Instead, he dug deep and did absolutely everything he could to keep his team in the game.

Mayfield was dodging would-be tacklers all day and even found himself taking off and running the ball often — something he normally doesn’t do a whole lot of. He finished the game with four rushes for 29 yards with a long of 11.

The team had nothing to play for but Baker was still giving it a 110 percent effort. He was hitting deep passes and taking some massive hits. He’s going to be chastised all offseason because he again had a multiple interception game but he was seriously just trying to will his team to a win in what proved to be one of their ugliest losses of the season.

None of this means Baker is without blame. He wasn’t as good in 2019 as he was as a rookie and he needs to look in the mirror when trying to figure out how this team can be better in 2020.

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