Cleveland Browns: All duds, no studs in humiliating loss to New England Patriots

Cleveland Browns dud: Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield looked off in every facet of his game against the Patriots on Sunday. From the very first drive, he made some suspect throws, and even the touchdown pass at the end of that first drive was a pass that probably shouldn’t have been thrown. Sure, he put it where it seemed only his receiver could catch it, but the defender was a lot closer to making a play to break it up than it looked initially.

Beyond that one throw, Mayfield just didn’t look good. He finished the day with 11 completions on 21 attempts for 73 yards. He did throw an interception, in addition to his first-quarter touchdown, prior to getting knocked out of the game with a leg injury.

With Mayfield already dealing with a left shoulder injury, a leg injury added to that doesn’t exactly bode well for the Browns signal-caller. With the team sitting at 5-5, but still very much in the hunt for both a playoff berth and the AFC North Division title, having a healthy Mayfield is important, but only if Mayfield is at his best.

With the backup quarterback being Case Keenum, if Mayfield misses any significant amount of time (Kevin Stefanski says he shouldn’t but time will tell), the Browns season may very well be over. Keenum, while a suitable backup, isn’t necessarily the guy you want out there for more than a few plays in relief.

The Browns need to hope that Mayfield is healthy and can return to his late 2020-season self, because that may be their only hope to achieve any of their goals this season.