3 Questions Cleveland Browns still need answered
By Greg Newland
Cleveland Browns Question Needing Answered No. 2 – Can Baker Mayfield put together back-to-back performances
One stat line can’t be denied by anyone, and that is Baker Mayfield plays substantially better without OBJ on the field with him. I know Beckham wasn’t getting a ton of targets this year, but just his presence on the field seems to throw of Mayfield’s rhythm. I’m not saying it makes sense, but no one can deny the correlation.
While I don’t want to act like Mayfield blew the doors off the house vs. the Bengals, he had a completion percentage of 66.7, 218 yards, two touchdowns, and no turnovers. I would argue he was only inaccurate with two or three passes the entire day.
We have seen glimpses of good this season, but now we need to see consistency. Mayfield doesn’t need to be a guy who throws for 400 yards and four touchdowns each week, but he needs to have a high completion percentage and not turn the ball over.
With Nick Chubb on the roster, Mayfield only needs to make three or four big throws a game, which he has proven he can do.
The Patriot’s offense is average at best, and they rely heavily on the defense. That makes having no turnovers more important. You can’t give a struggling unit a short field and give them a chance to get in a rhythm.