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Cleveland Browns: Baker Mayfield’s 5 best games of 2020

By Sam Penix

CLEVELAND, OHIO - NOVEMBER 22: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns greets teammates as they take the field prior to a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 22, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO - NOVEMBER 22: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns greets teammates as they take the field prior to a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 22, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Browns, Baker Mayfield
Cleveland Browns, Baker Mayfield. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Week 7 at Cincinnati Bengals

Baker Mayfield was coming off the worst game of his NFL career (in fact, the worst game of his football career) against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the first quarter of this outing didn’t go any better. He didn’t complete a pass in the first quarter, and his first pass attempt was an awful downfield shot to Odell Beckham Jr., which was picked off and led to Beckham tearing his ACL.

At this point, Mayfield was at a true crossroads not only in the season, but in his career. There were two choices: either break under the stress and pressure and spiral out of control, with his bad play becoming worse. Or, overcome the situation and prove why he was the first overall pick in 2018.

It’s safe to say that Mayfield chose the second option. He completed 22 of his next 23 passes in the game, with the only incompletion being a spike on the final drive of the game. He threw for 297 yards and five touchdowns, with four coming in the second half. Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense took a three-point lead with 1:04 left to go and the Browns were all out of timeouts.

Mayfield led the team on a game-winning drive, making a fantastic throw to Donovan Peoples-Jones in the end zone with just 11 seconds left. Since that game, Mayfield has thrown for 15 touchdowns to just two picks, and is the third-highest graded QB behind only Aaron Rodgers and Deshaun Watson.

Something changed at halftime of that game, and Mayfield went from fighting for his future to proving he is a franchise QB. Even with the awful first quarter, it was the best game of his career, and showed a ceiling that was previously unknown. The optimism he’s inspired since then has been nothing short of incredible.

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