Cleveland Browns: Studs and duds in another abysmal performance in Week 17

Cleveland Browns dud: Baker Mayfield, Quarterback

There’s only one word to describe quarterback Baker Mayfield at this moment: Broken. Yes, he has played through injury at times this year. Yes, he has lost his best offensive weapons at times. On Monday night, however, a healthy Mayfield (according to both himself and his coaches) just looked downright bad for a majority of the game.

Mayfield started the game 1-11 passing, including 10 straight incompletions, which is the longest incompletion streak by a quarterback this season. He also continually put the ball in bad positions on his on-target throws, which resulted in two interceptions, bringing his 2021 total to 13.

It’s easy to blame all of Mayfield’s issues on his injuries this season, including the torn labrum in his left shoulder. If everyone is completely honest with themselves, however, they’ll admit that 2021 Baker Mayfield has not improved much from the 2018 rookie Baker Mayfield. That’s not something you want to say about your potential franchise quarterback regarding his development.

Cleveland Browns stud: Jadeveon Clowney, EDGE

Jadeveon Clowney was a menace on Monday night, both for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns. Clowney got to Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger twice, including once on third down which nearly resulted in a sack. He also had one tackle for loss and was in the backfield a few other times causing havoc for his opponent.

Clowney was also a bit of a menace for his own team and head coach Kevin Stefanski, however. On a key third-down stop that would have likely made Pittsburgh settle for a field goal, Clowney ripped off the shoe of Steelers receiver Chase Claypool and threw it away. That prompted the referees to give him a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

While that drive ultimately resulted in a touchdown for the Steelers after being stopped on third down, it wasn’t enough to put him off this list as a stud. Besides, now there’s likely to be a cool GIF of the whole incident.

So the next time you look up GIF for the Cleveland Browns, you can likely thank Clowney for adding to the fun.