Cleveland Browns: Studs and Duds from thrilling Week 7 victory

Stud: Baker Mayfield, Quarterback

Can you believe social media was flooded at 1:30 with cries of “time for Baker to go?” I’ll be honest, I didn’t completely agree, but I did believe he was on a short leash. After a 0-for-5 start with an interception, it appeared the Browns offense was in for another Pittsburg type showing.

Boy was I wrong, after that Mayfield went 22-of-23 for 297 yards and five touchdowns. Don’t forget, the offensive line once again kept Mayfield clean as he was not sacked once on Sunday. What was the difference? How could he start so badly and finish so well? These are all questions I would love to know, but at this time I’m just happy he bounced back and led the Browns to a win.

Had Mayfield not had the horrid start, he would have easily been the number one stud, but this was the exact bounce back needed. Some will say this great game came against a horrible Bengals defense, but his bad game also came against the league-best Steelers.

While this win was great for the team’s momentum, Mayfield knows his next big task is stepping up in big games (especially division games). His second-half stats coming into today were certainly eye-opening, and he got one monkey off his back by absolutely carrying his team to the finish line for a victory.

Let’s not close the book on Mayfield just yet, but he certainly needs to put together a few more performances like this to prove he is worth giving the keys to the franchise.