Cleveland Browns: Oh, Silent Night, Baker Hater Edition

Even in defeat, Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns silenced haters

If you found yourself questioning the 2018 number one draft pick, my guess is you’ve had a change of heart. Week in and week out fans and media demanded Baker Mayfield needed to step up and meet the needs of the Cleveland Browns franchise, which desperately needed a franchise quarterback.

Everyone was constantly wondering if he could truly step up to play in the spotlight. The Monday Night Football game against the Baltimore Ravens silenced all of the looming questions and doubts.

Mayfield threw for 343 yards, had two touchdowns, and his first interception in 187 passing attempts. However, his offensive line’s efforts should not go unnoticed, as they allowed 0 sacks against a blitz heavy defense. While stats don’t always prove the quality of a player, a quarterback especially, if you watched the game you likely noticed the quality of our franchise quarterback for
yourself.

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While you may argue that 28-of-47 completions aren’t spectacular, I’d argue that dropped balls and fumbled passes helped play a role in that stat. If you tuned in to MNF you likely saw the shaky first half our offense had, but you likely also witnessed the adjustments made at halftime and the fire in their eyes to begin the third quarter. Remember, halftime adjustments are what the fans and media have been hounding Mayfield to make, all season. And he did exactly what he needed to.

Baker Mayfield played clutch football when the Cleveland Browns needed him to. Oh, that fire in his eyes never burnt out in the second half of a tough fought game. Baker threw a huge interception that quickly resulted in 7 points for the Ravens, yet the fire was still lit. Throughout his career with the Browns, Baker is known for “falling apart” after an interception, yet he did the complete opposite in the Monday night matchup.

Just another improvement he has made as his confidence and comfort levels with Kevin Stefanski’s offensive playbook continues to rise. What more could you ask for from a franchise quarterback?

While the team came up short of the win, the “Baker Haters” have been silenced until Sunday’s prime time game against the New York Giants. As of now, Baker is THAT guy and is OUR guy.