3 Cleveland Browns who played well during loss to Raiders
By Grant Puskar
No. 1: Baker Mayfield played a clean game
It seemed as if Baker Mayfield was just about the only guy in brown and orange that came to play Sunday. While his numbers were not outstanding, there are two factors that for some reason extreme Mayfield haters are forgetting — he still played a clean game with zero turnovers and had zero help from his receivers.
Start with the first drive. The Browns are driving, led by Mayfield. What happens next? Rookie Harrison Bryant fumbles. Jarvis Landry had at least three drops in the game, and there were more from other receivers. Most notable was David Njoku and his game and drive-killing drop on 3rd-and-5 where he would have had the first down and a lot more.
The narrative that Mayfield doesn’t play well against good opponents has been true at times, but this game does not fit that shoe, so stop trying to make it work. I like to consider myself a heavy Mayfield critic, and also someone who has been in love with Lamar Jackson and his play. In case you have not checked the numbers for the two quarterbacks this season, they might interest you.
This season, Lamar Jackson has 1,135 yards with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions and is 19th in total QBR. Mayfield, however, has 1,392 yards with 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions and is 12th in total QBR. These numbers are not crazy different, but the talk of there being a major difference between the two should settle.
Next. Studs and duds from Week 8 loss. dark
The Browns have a few positives to take from this game and build on, but some are better than none. After the bye week, it’s go time, and hopefully, we get to see some new faces on defense all thanks to potential trade deadline moves.