Cleveland Browns: 4 predictions for Baker Mayfield in Week 13

3. Mayfield is unleashed

One thing that hasn’t really happened much this season is Baker Mayfield truly being unleashed. For the most part, head coach Kevin Stefanski is running his system through the running backs.

This makes sense when you have Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt but it also leads to the impression that Stefanski is trying to limit Mayfield out of fear. But there are two things wrong with this idea.

One is that Stefanski operated in much the same way with the Minnesota Vikings in 2019. With Kirk Cousins under center, he often leaned on Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison while allowing Cousins to play more of a game-manager mode.

The other issue with this idea is that Mayfield has disproven it at times. When the Browns needed to air the ball out, Stefanski called on him to do so, and No. 6 has delivered. Never was this more apparent than in Week 7 when Mayfield completed 22-of-23 passes (with the only incompletion being a spike to stop the clock) from the second quarter on during their win over Cincinnati. He also had five touchdowns including a game-winner to Donovan Peoples-Jones.

In Week 13, the Browns will try and run the ball but the Titans ability to score coupled with their stout defense will force Mayfield’s hand. He’s going to have to be unleashed and when this happens, look for him to succeed. This bold prediction is that Mayfield is the focal point of the offense and finishes with 300-yards on the day.