Getty Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns.
The Cleveland Browns lost to Baltimore Ravens on Monday night 47-42, but quarterback Baker Mayfield was far from being the problem.
Mayfield was 28 of 47 passing for 343 yards, accounting for three total touchdowns — two passing and one rushing. He tossed a costly pick in the second half that the Ravens turned into a touchdown, but it was clear that he kept the Browns in the game with some big throws down the stretch.
Mayfield has turned the corner this year after a miserable sophomore season. He’s passed for 2,785, with 23 touchdowns to 8 interceptions.
Despite his improvement, the Mayfield-hater train keeps rolling, with Fox Sports radio host Colin Cowherd — a long-time critic of Mayfield — serving as the conductor.
Cowherd went on another rant on Tuesday blasting Mayfield and the Browns for overspending to “babysit” him to assure he’s not labeled a bust.
Last night showed why Cleveland is not a Super Bowl team:
“The Browns are trying to create this perfect offense to ensure Baker Mayfield works.” — @ColinCowherd
“Cleveland has such a sad and embarrassing history of whiffing on quarterbacks that when John Dorsey and Cleveland drafted Baker as a reach at No. 1, they overspent to build a fortress around him to ensure he would look OK,” Cowherd said on The Herd.
Cowherd: Browns Built Fortress Around Baker Mayfield
GettyOdell Beckham Jr. of the Cleveland Browns.
Cowherd pointed out the Browns spending huge money at wide receiver between Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, as well as at tight end with Austin Hooper. His argument is that the Browns tried to build a powerful offensive unit to help Mayfield while neglecting the defensive side of the ball.
“The problem is Cleveland’s back seven doesn’t have any players. They overspend so much on the offense,” Cowherd said. “Cleveland’s self-esteem is so low at quarterback that they built this incredible all-star fortress of receiving, tight ends, and offensive line and running back talent around him to show it wasn’t a reach. That’s why you’re not a Super Bowl team. Your defense in the back-seven in awful. There are guys back there that are not starters in the NFL.”
While Cowherd is right, to an extent, the Browns were not near full power last night. Starting cornerbacks Denzel Ward — a Pro Bowl-caliber player — and Greedy Williams were not suited up and rookie safety Grant Delpit was not on the field either. Ward missed his third game with a calf injury, While Williams and Delpit have not played a snap this season due to injuries in training camp. Still, Cowherd blasted forward with his hot take.
“You can’t babysit Baker. Josh Allen has an average offensive line — he still wins. Lamar Jackson has below-average wide receiving talent — he’s still winning. They’re trying to create this perfect offense to ensure that Baker works, but in the process have overspent at tight end and wide receiver. Stop babysitting Baker. He’s going to have to win games with an average O-line and with OK to below-average receivers. Because Lamar Jackson did last night.
Baker Mayfield Proving He’s Long-Term Solution
GettyQuarterback Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns.
The numbers can tell part of the story, but so do the sentiment from Mayfield’s teammates, who view him as the leader of the team.
“He is a winner,” running back Kareem Hunt said. “He wants to win and is a hard worker. I like a guy like that on my team. Baker is doing a great job of leading us and finding ways to keep us in the ball game.”
#Browns Kareem Hunt: “Baker’s one heck of a quarterback.”
Mayfield also hasn’t been shy to take accountability for his mistakes and has stressed that he can be better.
“I hate turning the ball over. It hurts the team, and I never want to do that,” Mayfield told reporters after the loss. “I want to put us in a position to win. I want to win anyway, shape or form. After that, we needed to score points on every drive and that was the mindset – move on and go to the next one.”
The Browns are still in a position to snap their extended playoff drought, facing the Giants and Jets the next two weeks. Wins in those games will be important with a season-finale against Pittsburgh looming.
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