Shouldn’t winning be enough, or does Baker Mayfield need stats also?
The Cleveland Browns are 7-3 for the first time in years, so you would think that there would be nothing but praise for coach Kevin Stefanski, quarterback Baker Mayfield and really everyone who wears the brown and orange. Not so, however. You see, perfectionist fans are disappointed that Mayfield is not putting up enough style points. They want to win fantasy football every week with Mayfield as their quarterback, and there he is, with fewer than half the points of Patrick Mahomes or Russell Wilson.
He is currently 27th in the NFL in yardage and has only 15 touchdown passes, tying him for 15th in the NFL. With Odell Beckham, Jr. out for the season and Jarvis Landry at less than 100 percent with cracked ribs, it’s predictable that Mayfield may not be the passing machine many of his fans expected to see.
Yet, with a healthy Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, there is no reason why the backfield duo cannot continue to put up numbers and pound opposing defenses into the turf. Versus Philadelphia, the Browns had 40 rush attempts versus 22 pass attempts. In other words, the Browns ran the ball 65 percent of the time. The table below shows that the Browns, over the course of the season, have established an identity as a running team. They actually lead the NFL in percentage of run plays.
Team Rush Pass Rush Pct Pass Pct
BALTIMORE 27 39 41% 59%
CINCINNATI 35 23 60% 40%
WASHINGTON 37 23 62% 38%
DALLAS 40 31 56% 44%
INDIANAPOLIS 33 38 46% 54%
PITTSBURGH 22 28 44% 56%
CINCINNATI 22 29 44% 56%
LAS VEGAS 22 25 47% 53%
HOUSTON 41 20 67% 33%
PHILADELPHIA 40 22 65% 35%
TOTAL 319 278 53% 47%
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the Browns prefer to run the ball, so gigantic passing numbers will not result. They actually run the ball more often than they put it in the air.
Running the ball in 2020 in the NFL
The Browns are a throwback to the days of Bernie Kosar, Kevin Mack, and Earnest Byner. They really are committed to the run, which is one of the reasons Baker Mayfield is not accumulating major passing statistics this season.
Other teams talk about it, but the Browns really do it. The Browns stay on the ground roughly 53 percent of the time (sacks are not counted as passing plays; while deliberately throwing the ball to avoid a sack is counted as a passing play, so go figure). The dependence on the ground game also results in few offensive snaps, and thus less wear and tear on the linemen. There may be some method to this madness quite beyond fantasy football.
The other teams that run more often than pass, according to Teamrankings.com, are the Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, and Stefanski’s former team, the Minnesota Vikings. Other teams that are close to 50-50 are the Tennessee Titans at 49 percent running plays, Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams, and Arizona Cardinals at just over 45 percent running plays.
At any rate, Mayfield has fewer passing attempts than average. The NFL average is currently 35 pass attempts per game, and this season the Browns (Mayfield plus a few cameos from Case Keenum and Jarvis Landry) are averaging only about 28 attempts per game. The Ravens, Vikings, and Browns are all separated by fractions of a decimal point from being tied for the fewest pass attempts per game.
Just because the Browns operate a run-first offense does not mean that expectations are lowered, however. Versus Philadelphia, Mayfield didn’t have a great game, missing on some throws to open receivers. On a rainy day, the ball is slick and completion percentages suffer. Cold weather offenses tend to perform better by running the football, which is what the Browns did.
Still, we would like to see Mayfield continue to keep the interception totals low, and completion percentage high. In that regard, Mayfield’s interception percentage is currently 2.6 percent, lower than in his previous two seasons. n the run-first offense, Mayfield may underperform stat-wise compared to other quarterbacks in fantasy football.
Is there something wrong with scoring on the ground that violates someone’s artistic sensibilities or what?
For that matter, if they win with defense and the offense is below average, is there something wrong with that? Or does the offense have to be dominant each time or it does not count?
What is wrong with scoring on the ground?
As long as the team is scoring more than the opposition, why are some fans upset that not enough touchdowns are coming through the air? Why not use the most reliable athlete you have available for the situation.
Years ago, the Dallas Cowboys had an extreme situation with Troy Aikman. He made six straight Pro Bowls, and ultimately the Hall of Fame. He has the second-lowest interception percentage in history, which is extremely important. However, he never threw more than 23 touchdown passes in a single season. The main reason is that he had Emmitt Smith who had a tremendous ability to score touchdowns in the red zone for the Cowboys. So Troy Aikman was famous for being a lousy fantasy football quarterback.
Smith scored 73 TDs on the ground in the four year period when the Cowboys were the Cowboys and brought home three World Championships. Later, the team went into decline as Jerry Jones decided to mold the team in his own image and they played at a much lower level — occasionally brilliant, but also stupid sometimes.
Speaking of stupid, sometimes fans question Aikman’s inclusion in the Hall of Fame. Other quarterbacks not in the Hall of Fame have more impressive numbers. If the idea of the Hall of Fame is to accumulate statistics, if it is truly a Hall of Stats, then yeah, he does not belong. But if the idea of football is to guide a team to win the Championship, that is what the quarterback is supposed to do, and he excelled at it like few others have.
If the quarterback leads the team to three Super Bowl victories, maintains a very low interception percentage, manages a great running game, and makes the big play when called upon, that pretty much defines what the quarterback is supposed to do, does it not? As they say in Texas, you are darn tootin’ he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame! There’s nothing wrong with handing the ball off to Emmitt Smith near the goal line.
Similarly, there’s nothing wrong with giving the ball to Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. They’re stars, so give them the ball. Don’t worry about Mayfield’s stats, just draft some other quarterback for your fantasy team.
This isn’t to say that Mayfield is at the level of Troy Aikman. No, no, that is not the point. It’s to say, however, that if Aikman did not put up giant numbers, Mayfield might not either, but that does not prove that he is doing a terrible job. The job of the quarterback is to lead the team, and if it means leading a running team instead of a run and shoot team, so be it. The dreams of compiling big stats should be set aside.
Football is not about stats, it should be about beating your opponent. If Mayfield can lead the Browns to the playoffs, and especially if he can beat the Steelers and Ravens, they should name a street after him. After so many losing seasons, who cares what style they use to win? To borrow a line from Al Davis, but just win, baby. Any way that works is fine.
If this needs to be a running team, that is awesome. If someone’s fantasy team suffers because of it, well, go draft another fantasy quarterback.