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The Cleveland Browns will spend the postseason on the couch after failing to live up to some extraordinary expectations, stumbling down the stretch.
A lot of fingers have been pointed at Baker Mayfield’s subpar performance this season, despite the former top pick dealing with a slew of injuries, most notably to his shoulder. Mayfield reacted to the Browns disappointing finish to the season during an interview with former NFL quarterback Alex Smith prior to Cleveland’s Monday Night Football appearance against the Steelers.
“Obviously we are not satisfied or happy with what has happened. We expected to have a better record. We set our own standard and we have been working on the culture ever since I got in here, as well as guys like Myles, Nick Chubb, Jarvis [Landry], David Njoku and Austin Hooper,” Mayfield told Smith. “Just a bunch of guys we brought in culturally that have been trying to reset that standard and the expectation within the building.”
Mayfield also hinted — again — at internal issues that he’s had to deal with and relationships that have had to be rebuilt. Much of that likely stemmed from the drama with Odell Beckham Jr., who had quite a few allies in the locker room.
Mayfield Said Browns Need to ‘Learn How to Stop Losing’
The Browns made the postseason last year with an 11-5 record, beating the Steelers in the Wild Card round. However, the Browns dealt with a bevy of problems both on and off the field this season that led to a regression and they are now fighting to finish with a winning record.
“We expected to be a lot better. Yeah, some things that happened throughout the year but when you look back at some of these games, just a few plays off. That’s why it’s disappoint,” Mayfield said. “To have a winning franchise you have to learn how to stop losing first. We have done a lot of things that have cost us games. That’s the frustrating part. The good part is we can acknowledge that and make those corrections. It’s all heading the right direction, for sure.”
Mayfield also took a step backwards, although the injuries obviously played a large role in that. Entering Monday night’s game against the Steelers Mayfield had passed for just 15 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, including four turnovers against Green Bay in Week 16 that hurt the Browns big time.
Mayfield on Injuries: ‘It’s Been Really Hard’
For as uneven as Mayfield’s play was this season, the injuries make an evaluation for the Browns extremely tough. He’s battled to be on the field for all but two games — one due to his shoulder issues and the other because of a positive COVID-19 test.
Mayfield was blunt with Smith about the injuries, sharing that it was a major disruption to his routine.
“It’s been really hard, to be honest with you. I can’t sugarcoat that,” Mayfield said. “There’s no way around it. You have to take the extra time to get your body in the best position to go out on Sunday’s and find a way to win,” Mayfield said. “I’ll say this — I did everything I could to get to the point where I felt comfortable enough to play to where I knew I’d help us win games and be healthy enough to do that. If I felt otherwise, I would have told them I couldn’t go.”
When Mayfield does eventually have surgery, the timeline for recovery is 4-6 months.
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