Cleveland Browns: Baker Mayfield 2021 projection
By Josh Brown
Baker Mayfield/Kevin Stefanski make adjustments
Baker Mayfield and the Browns limped out of Pittsburgh and headed down to Cincinnati to face the Bengals. Baker had always played well against the Bengals, so a chance for a bounce-back game was certainly possible.
Instead, the Browns came out on offense to start the game, and Baker dropped back, launching a ball down the sideline for Odell Beckham Jr., and we all know what happened next. Not only did Baker throw the interception, but we lost OBJ for the rest of the season.
Cleveland had clearly hit the lowest of low points at that moment, which made what happened next even more amazing. Baker bounced back to throw five touchdowns, including a game-winner with 11 seconds on the clock for what could have been the best game of his career so far.
A corner was turned that day in Baker Mayfield’s career. The numbers would look ugly for a few weeks playing in some of the worst winds ever at First Energy stadium.
That Bengals game and a few adjustments made during the bye week that followed had Baker Mayfield playing some of the best football of his young career. From week seven on, Baker Mayfield threw an average of 35 times a game, up from 28 through the first six weeks. He would throw 20 touchdowns, including the playoffs, and a minuscule three interceptions over those final 11 games.
That comes out to 1.8 touchdowns per game. Mayfield also threw for 2,935 yards over those 11 games. That is an average of 266 yards per game during that run. In weeks one thru six, it was just 185 yards per game. So it was not just playing protect the football and let the run game lead the way. Baker was integral in leading the offense.
The expectations would be that this should carry over to 2021 and possibly a bigger season from the Browns signal-caller.