Cleveland Browns: 5 Bold predictions for Wild Card weekend

1. Baker Mayfield continues to grow

This season ended up being everything we could have asked for from Baker Mayfield. When Kevin Stefanski was hired, we hoped to see the kind of efficiency that Stefanski got from Kirk Cousins in 2019 with the Minnesota Vikings and that’s exactly what we got.

Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report looked at the comparison between Cousins and Mayfield under Stefanski and it was nearly identical with them each having 26 touchdowns while being within 50 passing yards and one turnover from one another.

Mayfield had his lowest yardage season as a pro but had fewer turnovers than he did in either of his first two seasons. In fact, his interception total dropped from 21 in 2019 to just eight in 2020. Most importantly, he led them to a record of 11-5 as the starter for the Browns.

Even with all that being accomplished, there are still those who think Mayfield might not be the answer for the Browns. Even leading up to their Week 17 game, there were some saying Cleveland could move on from him if they don’t beat the Steelers. Surely, those same critics might claim they will move on from him if they don’t win in the playoffs, but that’s absurd.

This is Mayfield’s team and he’s earned the right to have the questions stopped. Unfortunately, he’s so polarizing that this may never happen. That could be a good thing, however, since it does fuel him.

Always on a mission to prove himself, Baker now has another chance to add to his legacy — by performing well in the playoffs. This final bold prediction is that he doesn’t just play well, but that he outperforms the veteran on the other side of the field.

Look for Mayfield to work the ball downfield and once again take advantage of running lanes as he did in Week 17. It might not end all the doubt, but a solid postseason performance will only continue to show how much he has grown as a leader.