Column: Sunday sucked, future still bright for Cleveland Browns

Sunday’s loss won’t define 2020 Cleveland Browns

Just three years ago, my bare feet hit my cold wooden ladder of the lofted bed in my dorm room at Kent State University. I climbed down and turned the Cleveland Browns game on the television that illuminated the small, dark room.

I watched attentively as the 0-12 Browns hosted the Green Bay Packers without Aaron Rodgers.

Earlier that week, the Browns had dismissed GM Sashi Brown. The Rodgers-less Packers looked to be the only winnable game remaining, with the Ravens, Bears and Steelers ahead. The Browns outplayed Green Bay for 45 minutes, but blew a 21-7 lead and were defeated in overtime at the hands of Brett Hundley.

As DeShone Kizer lofted a meatball in the air to the Packers defense in overtime, the Cleveland Browns seemed hopeless and I climbed back into my bed for a sad nap.

Three weeks after, I am freezing my tail off in Heinz Field on New Years Eve sporting my father’s old, extra large, Tim Couch jersey pulled over my winter jacket, praying that the Browns can avoid 0-16 in their last game of the season.

“You think Sam Darnold’s gonna save the Browns?” a drunken yinzer yelled from his seats. “Mayfield ain’t going to Cleveland, and then LeBron’s gonna leave!”

As the Corey Coleman dropped a game-winning ball, even the nearby Pittsburgh faithful felt bad as I trudged to the parking lot with frozen feet after watching my team play 16 games without a win.

Sunday sucked.

It was a painful, familiar sight of a Browns quarterback getting tormented in Mustard Field causing fans and pundits to wonder if aforementioned-quarterback was “the guy.”

The Browns are 4-2. Any overreaction or rant on my behalf would be completely falsified.

In years past, the Browns would’ve been thumped in Heinz and Freddie Kitchens or Hue Jackson would be clueless. It would feel hopeless and lost. A blowout ensued against an elite defense, but the vision in Cleveland should still be apparent.

Baker Mayfield has played six of his worst quarters of football in a Browns uniform, and that’s concerning. A set of bruised ribs on his throwing side and a gusty “Mama ain’t raise no wuss” quote is not a tolerable excuse for this tormented Cleveland fanbase. I understand that.

But stepping back and looking big picture, Mayfield has led the Browns to four straight games of scoring over thirty points. Now, I know, the early success is based on the legs of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. But those guys aren’t running every single snap. Mayfield has made throws to get the Browns to their most impressive start in over two decades.

Kevin Stefanski didn’t leave his forever home in Minnesota because he didn’t believe in Mayfield. That just wouldn’t make any sense.

Again, Sunday was bad. But Mayfield is more talented, and has a much higher ceiling, than Kirk Cousins or Case Keenum, who Stefanski coached with the Vikings. Browns fans (I’m looking at you, Twitter) need to learn that Keenum is not John Elway and starting him over a healthy-enough Mayfield puts this franchise in the same cycle of misery since 1999. That’s not the answer.

Taking things a final step further, Andrew Berry was the Vice President of Player Personnel of the Browns up until 2018. He was responsible for gathering information on the quarterbacks and has endorsed Mayfield publicly many times. Most recently, this August, Berry raved about Mayfield’s leadership and offseason training.

This week is going to be hell on wheels. Pundits, critics and talking heads are going to be louder than ever. They’re going to be calling for Mayfield’s job, calling the Browns frauds, the list goes on.

Ignore that.

Once Mayfield gets healthy and rebounds, all of this noise will go away again. The Browns have beaten good teams. The Colts are 4-2 and still lead defensive statistical categories. The Cowboys, despite their defense, had a high-powered offense with a plethora of weapons. This team should still make the playoffs with a rookie head coach and an incomplete defense.

Jumping ship now would be downright silly. Benching Mayfield for an NFL journeyman would be a mistake.

Remember 3-36-1? I do. And I never want to go back.

Sunday sucked, but the future is bright in Cleveland.