Baker Mayfield tops Joe Burrow, restores Browns faith

Baker Mayfield beats Joe Burrow and restores Browns faith in him

There is no better feeling than a Friday morning coffee after a win from Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night. For some reason, the thrill of the weekend is just that much greater. Sports fans are in luck as they will have college football, The US Open, MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL to choose from. My couch may be worn out from all the options.

Not only did the Browns get the win, but Mayfield also got his swagger and some redemption back — and restored the faith in him that had been damaged from a frustrating Week 1 defeat. While winning is the most important, he did it in stylish fashion while showing the 2020 No. 1 overall pick, Joe Burrow, that the 2018 No. 1 overall pick is still one up on the totem pole.

While Burrow showed he will keep the Bengals relevant for at least the next decade, the more exciting thing to see was Mayfield getting comfortable in the Kevin Stefanski offense. The offensive line was tremendous in run blocking and pass protection, and the defense was off guard all evening.

The Browns offense was clicking on all cylinders and was only slowed down by an intentional grounding penalty and an interception. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt ran at will, Mayfield was tremendous off play action, and on a few third and longs Mayfield showed he had the ability to stand in the pocket and make throws when the defense knew what was coming.

The stat line of 16 of 23 for 219 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception isn’t mind-blowing, but the command of the offense was tremendous from Mayfield. Burrow was 37-of-61 (holy cow) for 316 yards with three touchdowns, but 80 yards of that and one touchdown came at the end when the Browns were up two scores and in prevent defense.

The Browns continue to have struggles on defense and will have to improve in the next 10 days to beat the Washington Football team, but it was tremendous to get a win with a great opportunity to go over 500 next Sunday. Not only that, but Mayfield was also the same guy who came in on Thursday night in 2018 to defeat the New York Jets. He was quick on his reads, accurate, and commanded the huddle like a veteran leader.

The Bengals may be a bottom third team in the NFL but look for this success to carry into the following weeks and get this team on the right track.