Cleveland Browns: Baker Mayfield’s 5 worst games of 2020
By Sam Penix
2. Week 1 at Baltimore Ravens
The Browns were destroyed by the Tennessee Titans in Week 1 of 2019, and it would have been a surprise to see Cleveland play all that well against Baltimore in the 2020 season opener.
The Ravens were running back a nearly identical team from the seasons before, while the Browns had a new coaching staff, new front office, new players, and were attempting to implement and incorporate all of that while dealing with the offseason restrictions set in place due to the ongoing pandemic. Mayfield had met Stefanski about three months prior to kickoff, and that unfamiliarity showed.
It was clear that Mayfield was uncomfortable playing under center and still didn’t trust his offensive line. Having played in a spread/vertical scheme throughout his entire football career, this change was always going to take some time. He looked antsy in the pocket and bailed right on multiple occasions.
His mechanics were messy and his decision-making was less than stellar. It looked like this was the team’s first real football together, which was understandable. Breaking Mayfield down and building him back up was a long-term endeavor, and the results were never going to be evident right away.