Dawg Pound Daily
FanSided

Cleveland Browns must unleash Baker Mayfield this week

By Sam Penix

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) drops back to throw a deep pass intended for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13), which is intercepted by Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Darius Phillips (23) in the first quarter of the NFL Week 7 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns at Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. The Bengals led 17-10 at halftime.Cleveland Browns At Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) drops back to throw a deep pass intended for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13), which is intercepted by Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Darius Phillips (23) in the first quarter of the NFL Week 7 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns at Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. The Bengals led 17-10 at halftime.Cleveland Browns At Cincinnati Bengals /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns
Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cleveland Browns need to let Baker Mayfield throw the ball

The Cleveland Browns are 7-3, currently own the sixth playoff seed in the AFC, and have a great chance to advance to 8-3 this week against the 1-9 Jacksonville Jaguars. However, aside from his outburst against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Browns have been winning simply with Baker Mayfield, not because of him.

It may be difficult to view this as a negative, because the bottom line is the team is winning. But the training wheels can’t stay on forever, and Cleveland must let Mayfield loose this week and for the rest of the season, because they have some big decisions coming up.

Mayfield’s rookie year was spectacular. Despite playing only 13.5 games, he set the rookie record for touchdown passes (which will be broken by Justin Herbert this year, sadly) and looked like a franchise quarterback in every sense of the term. There were great expectations for 2019, but Mayfield, and pretty much everyone else on the Cleveland roster, fell significantly short of them. Mayfield regressed in every way possible, and a lot of that was due to the coaching he received (or perhaps did not receive). Mayfield didn’t play as poorly as some claimed, but his sophomore campaign was discouraging nonetheless.

When the Browns announced the hiring of Kevin Stefanski, everyone knew that there would be growing pains with Mayfield, especially once the pandemic ruined the offseason. Mayfield would be under his fourth head coach in three seasons, which has certainly not aided in his development. He would also be playing in a Gary Kubiak-style play-action offense, rather than the vertical schemes he had run his entire life. His mechanics and footwork were also to be revamped, so it was always going to take time for Mayfield to adjust in 2020.

Home/Browns News