Tag Archives: Baker Mayfield

Browns embarrassed by Cardinals in 37-14 loss

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The Cleveland Browns were outplayed from start to finish by the Arizona Cardinals in a lopsided 37-14 loss.

For the first time in the Kevin Stefanski-era the Cleveland Browns have lost two straight games. The Arizona Cardinals came to town and absolutely dominated Cleveland for the entire game. At no point in the game did the team look something resembling a competitive team. There are real issues across the board for this team and they surfaced on Sunday.

While the Browns were missing several key components on the roster (Jedrick Wills, Jack Conklin, Jarvis Landry, and Nick Chubb were all out), there were miscues on both sides of the ball. Cleveland’s defense did their best matador impression allowing the Cardinals to run right past them and move down the field with ease. Multiple times throughout the contest Cardinals receivers were not covered allowing for an easy completion for Kyler Murray. If the Cardinals were not making big plays, the Browns defense was committing dumb penalties that gave Arizona a first down.

This was the second straight week where the defense were flagged for things they should not have been, (this is the fault of the player not the official), and failing to make a stop when given the chance to do so. This Browns defensive unit is bad, plain and simple. The performances against the Texans, Bears, and Vikings were the exceptions not the rule. When facing Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and now Murray they have simply buckled under pressure.

Meanwhile Baker Mayfield had a remarkably forgettable performance. Outside of the Hail Mary touchdown to Donovan Peoples-Jones, Mayfield was 18-27 for 177 yards, averaging 6.6 yards per attempt. Entering Monday, those 177 yards would rank as the fourth-fewest yards total among all quarterbacks with 15 or more attempts.

This was a game where the Cleveland Browns needed Mayfield to step up and show he is the quarterback everyone hopes he can be. In predictable fashion and in what has become a trend this season, Mayfield failed to lead his team when they needed him most. Time and time again Mayfield missed open receivers, held the ball too long, and made wrong decision after wrong decision. Right now the game is too fast for Mayfield and he is not able to keep up.

Now at 3-3. the Browns with a short week as they take on the Denver Broncos Thursday night. Considering the long list of injured players combined with poor performances on the both sides of the ball as of late, 3-4 is a real possibility for this team. Things have to change on both sides of the ball in order to avoid losing their third straight game in order to keep any playoff hopes alive. As of right now this is an average team that does not belong in the playoffs and perhaps that is where things end up at the end of the season, missing the playoffs.

This Is Believeland – Real Browns Fans Podcast Ep. 26

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This Is Believeland – Real Browns Fans Podcast Episode 26: James and Jordan preview the upcoming matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals.

Browns Cardinals Preview by This Is Believeland

Box Score for Baker Mayfield is Misleading

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The box score does not tell the whole story when it comes to how Baker Mayfield performed in Sunday’s loss to the Chargers.

Judging by only the box score and final stat line it would appear that Baker Mayfield had a great game against the Los Angeles Chargers. In the loss Mayfield completed 23 of 32 pass attempts for 305 yards and two touchdowns while being sacked just once. The last part being quite impressive considering the Browns were without Jedrick Wills and Chris Hubbard going into the game and losing Jack Conklin along the way. Credit where credit is due, Mayfield avoided being sacked, did not turn the ball over, and managed the game well for the most part. However, taking a look beyond the basic box score paints a much different picture for how Mayfield performed in the loss.

While Baker Mayfield cracked the 300-yard barrier for the second time this season, it is how he got to that number that matters. Air yards only accounted for 114 of his passing total while 191 came after the catch, a good portion coming on what ended up being a 71-yard touchdown to David Njoku. Mayfield accumulating more yards after the catch than air yards is not new as he has 567 air yards compared to 673 yards after the catch this season. While Mayfield’s 9.5 intended air yards per completion is a career-high, the 5.8 completed air yards is a career-low by half a yard and the 6.9 yards after the catch per completion is a career high by 1.2 yards.

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Baker Mayfield had the fifth-lowest air yards per completion on Sunday with 4.4. Meanwhile Mayfield’s 8.7 intended air yards per attempt ranked 17th in the NFL, but is closer to the lowest number (6.1) than the highest (12.4). With a -4.2 average air yard differential in Week 5, only four players had worse negative differentials in this department.

It is important to note that these are not new developments for Baker Mayfield. At 5.4 average completed air yards, he checks in as the ninth-lowest in the league. Mayfield’s average intended air yards number of 9 ranks 13th in the NFL while his -3.6 average air yard differential is the second-worst in the league ahead of only Trey Lance.

A large reason why these numbers are so low is that Baker Mayfield is taking long time to throw the ball, ultimately determining to throw a shorter or check down pass. Mayfield averaged 2.99 seconds to throw the ball on Sunday, the eighth most time in the league. For the season that number is 2.88, the 11th longest in the NFL among quarterbacks with 38 or more pass attempts. A contributing factor is Mayfield is not being pressured on a large percentage of his drop backs, with a pressure rate of 18.1%, the lowest rate of his career. Opposing defenses are more content with dropping into coverage and forcing Mayfield to read the defense post snap and hoping he throws short. Judging by his YAC/AY ratio this has been the case more often than not.

So what does this all mean exactly? Well, let’s go back to the final drive in the loss Sunday. It took the Browns 50 seconds to move the ball 12 yards thanks to multiple short check down throws from Baker Mayfield. While Kevin Stefanski has decided to fall on his sword and take the blame for this sequence, the fact of the matter is that more often than not Mayfield is simply not attempting throws down the field on a consistent basis. The quarterback that would get the ball out quickly, not afraid of taking chances, pushing the ball down the field and feeling dangerous is not the quarterback currently taking snaps for the Browns.

Perhaps at some point Mayfield reacquaints himself with that playing style, showing that he is a franchise quarterback and not just the quarterback for a franchise. If not, the team will have to be content with this game manager style of passing that is good enough to be a playoff team, but is more than likely not prolific enough to reach their ultimate goal.

Browns run out of juice late, lose 47-42 to Chargers

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The Cleveland Browns came close, but ultimately fell short in Los Angeles as the Chargers come away with a shootout win.

The story of the Cleveland Browns 47-42 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers can be told in the final two drives of the game. While up just one with 3:15 to go, the Browns ran the ball twice including on 3rd and 10 before punting to the Chargers in what ended up being a game-winning scoring drive. Now trailing with 1:31 left in the 4th it was time for the Browns to pass the ball, enter Baker Mayfield.

The problem is that Mayfield did what he did all game for the most part, completed short passes and hoped that yards could be gained after the catch. Unlike earlier in the game that was not the case as it took the Browns 50 seconds to go just 12 yards. Cleveland’s chances ended on three unsuccessful deep throws from Mayfield and turning the ball over on downs with just five seconds left. A major reason why the Browns came up short in this game is the limitations of Mayfield.

Outside of a couple throws, Mayfield lived on short throws and yards after the catch. 21 of 23 completions from Mayfield are considered short throws, which is a trend that is not new. When Mayfield has been successful this season it has been when throwing short and relying on his receivers to make a play. While over 60 minutes it can produce impressive numbers, such as Mayfield’s 23-32 for 305 yards and two touchdowns. The problem arises when the ball is needed to pushed down the field in a comeback situation and it does not happen. While the excess of short throws could be a result of his injured shoulder, this has been the theme of the passing game this season.

Rushing attack keeps on chugging along

Part of the reason why Mayfield has been able to get away with throwing a lot of short throws and being successful has been the Browns rushing attack. Nick Chubb carried the ball 21 times for 161 yards and one touchdown while Kareem Hunt ran 12 times for 61 yards and two touchdowns. The heart and should of the Browns offense continues to be the dynamic duo of Chubb and Hunt.

Njoku and DPJ

Two players who made surprising impacts in the passing game were David Njoku and Donvoan Peoples-Jones. Njoku made an incredible play resulting in a 71-yard touchdown reception, just part of his seven catch 149 yard performance. Peoples-Jones finished with the second-most receptions (5) and yards (70) for Cleveland. While Njoku has been up and way down this season, Peoples-Jones has been a no-show, encouraging performances from both.

Missing: Odell Beckham Jr.

The most confusing aspect of the Browns offense continues on for another week. Baker Mayfield simply cannot connect with Odell Beckham Jr. While Beckham did have the costly drop on 4th and 2, he was only targeted three times in the contest finishing with just two receptions for 20 yards. A major factor in his lack of production definitely falls on the shoulders of Mayfield. Mayfield does not even appear to consider throwing in his direction an option as he completes short throw after short throw. Simply put, Mayfield appears afraid to throw the ball downfield and that has a direct impact on just what Beckham can do in a game. Until the quarterback stops being gun-shy, Beckham’s numbers will continue to suffer.

Injuries, injuries, injuries 

The Browns came into the game without Jedrick Wills, Chris Hubbard, and Jadeveon Clowney. During the game Cleveland also lost Jack Conklin and Denzel Ward for the game, two key payers on both sides of the ball. Also exiting at one point was Myles Garrett, AJ Green, Malik McDowell, and Troy Hill. Health was not Cleveland’s friend and did not make things easy as they battled a superior team on the road.

Defense

The less said about this unit, the better.

Not so special history

The Cleveland Browns made history in this game and not the good kind. This was the first time a team lost when either scoring 40 points and having zero turnovers, or scoring 40 points, totaling 500 yards, and having zero turnovers according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Baker Mayfield has partially torn labrum

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield has a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder and will continue to play through the injury.

There have been questions about whether of not the left shoulder of Baker Mayfield was bothering him since the injury suffered in the win over the Houston Texans a few weeks ago. It appears that Mayfield’s left shoulder is an issue as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has reported that the Browns quarterback has a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder.

Baker Mayfield is expected to continue to play through the injury. There has been an obvious drop in play this season and while the shoulder has contributed to that, there are non-shoulder related problems as well. Mayfield has gone back to bailing from the pocket and running to his right in addition to not seeing open receivers right in front of him.

It was obvious there was something wrong in the Browns win over the Vikings this past Sunday. Baker Mayfield missed a wide open Odell Beckham Jr. several times that would have made the margin of victory much larger. While there are other issues with Mayfield this season, the injury is the most pressing at the moment.

If Baker Mayfield is unable to make those throws and is impacting what the offense can do, perhaps a temporary quarterback change may be required while Mayfield gets to a place where he is not a liability. Case Keenum is not exciting, but it is about the big picture and the ultimate goals for the team. If that means a short-term spell of Keenum in order for Mayfield to be right for the playoffs so be it.

Browns explosive play disparity is alarming

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The Cleveland Browns differential in explosive plays on the ground versus through the air is becoming a major cause of concern.

Coming into the season everyone knew that the Cleveland Browns rushing attack was going to be the strength of their offense. When it comes to explosive plays on the ground, Cleveland is leading the league with 22 rushes of 10 yards or more. Considering the Cleveland backfield features Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, explosive plays on the ground are the norm multiple times per game, not at all an issue. The issue is that a passing attack which showed so much promise down the stretch last season is near the bottom of the league in explosive plays through the air with just 11. While nobody was expecting the Browns passing game to be elite by any means, nobody could have guessed they would be where they currently are. 

Whether some people want to admit it or not, the majority of the lack of effectiveness through the air falls on Baker Mayfield. Mayfield has struggled for most of the season and has been a liability to the Browns passing attack. Baker is not completing passes downfield and a large portion of those attempts are completely off target. While there was a game where Mayfield did not have Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry (minus two plays), Landry or Beckham have been in the lineup the other three games. Beckham is certainly someone who could help in the explosive pass play department, but Mayfield actually has to throw an accurate pass downfield first. 

So far the Browns have been winning ugly with a lackluster passing attack and an impressive running game. At some point the gap between explosive plays through the air and on the ground needs to close. If that is unable to happen, any postseason run in Cleveland will be short lived.

There are major concerns with Baker Mayfield

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The Cleveland Browns quarterback has not taken that next step that many anticipated this season.

The Cleveland Browns are 3-1 on the season and that is fantastic. Usually when a team had won three of their first four games the quarterback is usually the reason why. In this specific situation that does not apply for Baker Mayfield.

Baker Mayfield came out firing against Kansas City in Week 1 and each week his play has dipped. While some very basic numbers suggested he was better, (completion percentage), actually watching his on field play showed the opposite. Off target throws combined with overall bad decision making has left a lot to be desired from the quarterback position in Cleveland. Through four games Mayfield has a bad throw percentage of 25%, the worst of his career by 6.2%. 

Even in Sunday’s win over the Vikings, Baker Mayfield struggled. Mayfield had a -13.5 competition percentage over expected along with an average completion of just 4.7 yards. This was by far the worst performance of the season for Mayfield and was comparable to early last season when the Browns were still figuring out their current offensive scheme. 

When watching Baker Mayfield play there are some alarming habits that have resurfaced. Mayfield is abandoning the pocket and bailing to his right on a regular basis, two trends that were ever present during the disastrous 2019 campaign. If Mayfield is going to improve and turn his season around these patterns need to disappear immediately. 

Pressure? What pressure?

The trends that are concerning with Baker Mayfield are not limited to his resurrection of his bad habits from 2019. Mayfield has been sacked 12 times already this season, nearly half his total from all of last season (26) If this trend continues it would easily be a career-high number (40 in 2019). Additionally, when it comes to pressure per drop back, that number is at 18.4%, 0.4% lower than last season. In regards to the offensive line, they have done their job so this all falls back on Baker.

Opposing teams are not using the blitz to get to Mayfield when he drops back as they have only blitzed 19 times this season. Defenses are forcing Mayfield to read the defense post snap and with one of the lowest time to throw rates after the snap, it is proving problematic. Mayfield has been sacked on 9.6% of his drop backs this season, the fifth-highest rate in the league. The only quarterbacks sacked more frequently are Justin Fields, Davis Mills, Zach Wilson, and Ryan Tannehill, not exactly great company to be in. 

Air Yards, YAC, and missed throws

While Mayfield is not throwing interceptions, he really is not taking a whole lot of chances that would result in an interception. Mayfield is only completing an average of 5.7 air yards per completion per NFL Next Gen Stats, right in the middle in terms of other quarterbacks. As far as yards after the catch is concerned, currently Mayfield is benefiting from having more YAC than air yards (482-453). For reference, Mayfield has had more air yards than YAC in each of his first three seasons with the only season coming remotely close being 2019 (2007 A/Y – 1820 YAC).

There’s nothing wrong with a quarterback taking advantage of skill players getting YAC, the difference between Mayfield and other quarterbacks is that they usually complete throws down the field and are not relying on short passes to do so. The dink and dunk offense is simply not sustainable and that is where the Browns are at currently. 

There were quite a few times that Mayfield missed a wide open Beckham throughout the contest and that would have improved both his air yards and yards after the catch. 

These throws are simply unacceptable and must be corrected. Sure, Mayfield described his performance as “piss poor”, but taking the blame for his performance is the bare minimum, he needs to improve plain and simple. The reality is that his best play of the game cannot be when he tied Wyatt Teller’s shoe.

Looking ahead

There are a ton of high expectations for not only Baker Mayfield, but the Cleveland Browns as a whole. The fact of the matter is that Mayfield is not playing well at all and his performance will ultimately limit just how far the team can go. While the Browns are 3-1 they are winning with Baker Mayfield and not because of him, there is a huge difference. Mayfield’s 39.7 QBR (26th in the NFL) this season is a pretty good indicator this fact.

Cleveland is winning with a combination of excellent play calling from Kevin Stefanski, the two headed monster in the backfield, and a defense that is playing well right now, but ultimately is due for regression. That is where the team needs Mayfield to step up as having to play perfect is not sustainable and an unreasonable expectation. 

There’s a reason why the team hasn’t extended Baker Mayfield yet and it is the consistent inconsistency in his play. Until Mayfield can improve his on field performance any and all discussions involving this subject should be off the table. Perhaps Baker can channel some of his better quarterback performances from the past and play like the second halves of 2018 and 2020. If that happens the Browns have nearly unlimited potential and can possibly realize their lofty expectations. If he is unable to and these current trends continue, like it or not there are going to be a lot of conversations about the future of the quarterback position in Cleveland.