Will Baker Mayfield's poor form stand in between Browns and the Super Bowl?
The Cleveland Browns are 3-1 and looking like legitimate Super Bowl contenders. But Baker Mayfield's poor form is fast becoming a cause for concern. He has not been terrific this season and in the last game against the Minnesota Vikings, Baker Mayfield was extremely poor. That the Cleveland Browns came back with a 14-7 win despite their quarterback missing in action highlighted even more how seriously the Cleveland Browns need to be taken.
But that does not mean Baker Mayfield can play as he did and still keep winning games. He needs to become an asset again for the team instead of being a liability.
Baker Mayfield's struggles with the Cleveland Browns
So what makes the Cleveland Browns seem like legitimate Super Bowl contenders? The reason is their defense. After letting the Minnesota Vikings get their first touchdown of the game, the Browns dialed up the pressure on Kirk Cousins all night. By our estimates, they had 18 pressures on him and did not let him score a single touchdown after his first one all game. The Browns defense also intercepted Cousins once.
The #Browns currently rank 2nd in the NFL in total defense.
Meanwhile, the Browns offense fared badly with Baker Mayfield. The running game was great and that is how they scored their sole touchdown, which was followed by a two-point conversion. Most of the first downs came with the help of the rushing game and the first field goals was also set up due to that.
The second field goal came about because Baker Mayfield could not get his pass beyond the line of scrimmage on a third-down situation. His poor throwing bedeviled the Browns all game and it was a minor miracle that they won the game with their quarterback playing so poorly. He has 18 incompletions to just 15 completions.
Can Baker Mayfield recover his form to make the Browns Super Bowl Contenders?
There is every chance that Baker Mayfield can bounce back from that. The good thing was that right after the game he admitted he was crap. In his own words,
"The defense was good enough for us to win when I'm playing quarterback like that."
Admitting the problem is always the first step towards rectifying. Baker Mayfield can still come back strong and Browns fans will do well to remember where the franchise was before he arrived, in terms of wins and a settled quarterback position, and give him the benefit of the doubt.
Baker Mayfield: *drafted to a 1-31 browns team that had been the laughing stock of the league for 20 years and takes them to the playoffs in less than 3 seasons*
Random Twitter guy: “Baker’s not the kind of player that can change a franchise”
😐