Baker Mayfield fails at another game-winning drive attempt

Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns fail once again at closing a game with a last-minute touchdown drive. Did fans once feel like they even had a chance?

Sunday night was as ugly as a game as I’ve ever seen between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. Truthfully, neither team looked like a playoff contender.

Lamar Jackson threw four interceptions, the Browns defense played lights out, and the Browns offense once again was extremely limited. How do you get four turnovers and only manage to score 10 points in a game?

I’m not here to say this is all Baker Mayfield’s fault. He was under a lot of pressure all night and it was clear that no one was getting separation downfield. Mayfield was 18-of-37 for 247 yards, one touchdown, and one costly fumble.

Mayfield certainly threw some bad passes in the 16-10 loss, but the receivers also did him no favors. While there were only two or three blatant drops, there were another three or four passes that NFL receivers/tight ends should be making.

The one that sticks out the most is the third and five drop by Demetric Felton that completely halted a drive near midfield. There were also throws to Austin Hooper and David Njoku at the end of the game that you would have loved to see caught as well.

My question to you is, had the Browns gone up 16-10 with just over a minute left and Jackson was about to get the ball back with timeouts, what do you think would have happened?

I know the entire offense performed poorly which made things tough for Mayfield, but when the Browns got the ball back, we all knew it was a next to zero chance of them going down the field and scoring. And I would have had a knot in my stomach knowing there was no way we stopped the Ravens had roles been reversed.

I guess my point, it’s easy to blame the receivers and offensive line for Mayfield’s struggles last night. But look at what the Ravens have done with injuries. Lamar doesn’t have an NFL caliber running back on the roster and has three receivers that are far from elite. Yet, he finds a way to get it done.

Cleveland Browns fans know crappy quarterback play better than any other fanbase in the NFL, but just because Mayfield isn’t as bad as we have seen, doesn’t mean we should give him the keys to the franchise.

At least not until he proves he can close out the close games.