Cleveland Browns blame game: Baker Mayfield vs. Kevin Stefanski

Nov 21, 2021; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) talks with head coach Kevin Stefanski during the first quarter against the Detroit Lions at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2021; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) talks with head coach Kevin Stefanski during the first quarter against the Detroit Lions at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 28, 2021; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) walks on to the field during the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

Cleveland Browns argument: Baker Mayfield is the problem

Why am I blaming the quarterback for the Browns miserable season? He’s not the coach and ultimately the buck stops with him.

Yes, Baker Mayfield is only one player and it takes a team effort to win football games on Sunday. However, the Browns have had a frustrating season mainly due to the fact that the team’s offense, led by Mayfield have played out of psych all season and they haven’t executed plays that the coach is drawing up.

Mayfield touches the football on every offensive play and he’s the guy that has to be able to execute the play.

When Mayfield began his career in Cleveland, we were all treated to an instant classic when, early in the 2018 season, the rookie quarterback made a huge impact in a game they were losing to the New York Jets. Mayfield stepped into that game, right before halftime, and starting throwing bullets and brought Browns fans at the stadium — and around the world — to their feet as he orchestrated a great come from behind win in the second half where the Browns won 21-17.

It broke a losing streak that had spanned two seasons. The previous year of 2017 the Browns went 0-16 and they were just 1-15 the year prior.

That game set Mayfield up, in a sense, because we saw with our own two eyes what he could do in a big moment. But more moments like that haven’t occurred very much over these last four seasons. There have been a few moments such as the comeback win at Cincinnati last year. In that one, Mayfield was deadly accurate, throwing 21 straight competitions before throwing a brilliant game-winning pass with a few seconds remaining.

He hasn’t had any comeback wins this season, even though he’s had more chances. At Kansas City, the Browns and Mayfield had the ball in a last-minute drive but the quarterback threw an interception to squander that chance. He’s also had last-minute chances against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and now the Baltimore Ravens.

His pattern of not pulling off the win late in games can wear on a team.

The team can’t score points right now, and like I said earlier, Mayfield is the guy that starts and supposed to execute the plays, so that has to fall on the quarterback in some regard, if not the most.

Will he play better in the future, once he can heal from his injuries? I certainly hope so or his time in Cleveland will come to a close sooner than later.

Next. 3 Reasons Browns shouldn't extend Mayfield. dark

I wrote an article about sticking with Mayfield for the immediate future, but if the team’s offensive struggles continue to be exposed then that mystery plan-B that I mentioned, might be the better course of action.