Week 12 Instant Reactions: Cleveland Browns offense continues to falter in loss to Ravens
By John Suchan
The Cleveland Browns came up short against the division rival Baltimore Ravens after the offense sputtered and failed throughout the night
The Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens battled it out on Sunday Night Football with the Ravens winning 16-10. It was another game for the Browns where you wondered where was that high-powered offense they thought they’d have this season.
The Browns seemed rushed all night and out of sorts again on the offensive side of the ball. Quarterback Baker Mayfield again played a very poor game.
They also struggled with penalties as well as questionable play-calling from head coach Kevin Stefanski. And while the defense had four picks, they were unable to get a stop when it mattered most, which contributed to the letdown.
Baker Mayfield continues to struggle for Cleveland Browns
Baker Mayfield again was a disaster in this game. He’s been nursing several injuries this season and every one of them seemed to be exposed in this game as Mayfield was limping and looked beat up most of the night.
In a very bizarre first half, neither team could really generate anything offensively, while the defense intercepted the Baltimore quarterback three times. Mayfield couldn’t complete several of his passes and had a play that looked like a blooper when he fumbled an attempted screen pass right after one of the defense’s interceptions. Not capitalizing on those mistakes by the Ravens early was a big issue for the Browns and Mayfield as they scored three points off four turnovers.
In the second half, Mayfield had three drives late in the game after the Browns got to within 13-10 and he and his teammates failed to move the ball at all.
He was 10-of-22 in the first half alone for 128 yards. Throwing the ball 22 times and running only nine times in the first half again is not the equation for Browns to win games. Mayfield finished 18-of-37 with 247 yards in this one. This is clearly not the way for Cleveland to win games, evidenced by them being dealt another loss.