The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Mayfield is silencing his critics, for now
Add “prophet” to the list of words that describe Browns’ first-year head coach Kevin Stefanski.
Innovative, organized, even-keeled and confident were already part of the description that fit Stefanski. And then his team rallied from behind three times in the fourth quarter Oct. 25 to stun the host Cincinnati Bengals, 37-34.
Baker Mayfield’s only “incomplete” pass after a miserable 0-for-5 first quarter was an intentional spike at the Bengals 24-yard-line with 17 seconds left on first down following 21 straight completions. His next pass, making him 22 of 23 after the awful start, was a touchdown to rookie Donavan Peoples-Jones inside the right boundary of the end zone with 11 seconds left to finish off a fiveplay drive after the Bengals took a 34-31 lead with 1:06 remaining.
“(Quarterback) Case (Keenum) and I were talking (on the sideline),” Mayfield said. “We said they left us too much time. We got on the field. Everyone was talking about how we had to get to the 30 for a field goal. I told the guys, ‘Screw that. We’re going to win.’ “
Peoples-Jones didn’t catch a pass in any of the first six games.
“I was just hoping the ball would hit the ground or fall into one of our guys’ hands. I was just like, ‘Get the ball down!’ They had been making plays all game in the passing game, and luckily, we stopped that one.” — Browns guard Joel Bitonio, on the final play of the game
He was playing because star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. suffered what is believed to be a serious left knee injury when Mayfield’s first pass of the game was picked off and turned into a Bengals field goal. Peoples-Jones finished with three catches.
The touchdown pass to Peoples-Jones was the fifth of the game for Mayfield and shut up the critics who roasted him after he played poorly against Pittsburgh last week. Those same critics wanted to devour him after the first 15 minutes Oct. 25.
Mayfield threw two touchdown passes to rookie tight end Harrison Bryant, one to running back Kareem Hunt and one to tight end David Njoku. The first four TD passes looked nice on the stat page, but they would have been only glossy numbers had Mayfield not driven the Browns 75 yards to the end zone in the final 1:06 with no timeouts left.
“You’re going to play in these types of games every year in the NFL,” Stefanski said in his post-game Zoom conference. You’re going to have to come and win a game in a two-minute drive. I told the team last night, ‘You might have to go win it on the last play of the game.’ It has to be your mentality. To see them operate situationally was very impressive.”
And win it on the last play they did. Giovavi Bernard returned a short kickoff to the Bengals’ 42, running the clock down to four seconds left. Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow heaved the ball with all his might to the Bengals’ end zone. It wasn’t until safety Karl Joseph batted the ball and it fell to the ground that the Browns knew for sure their comeback would be the final one in a game that had five lead changes in the final quarter.
“It was a little nervewracking,” Browns guard Joel Bitonio said of the final play. “I was just hoping the ball would hit the ground or fall into one of our guys’ hands. I was just like, ‘Get the ball down!’
They had been making plays all game in the passing game, and luckily, we stopped that one.”
The Browns, so precariously close to 4-3, are 5-2 heading into their home game with the Raiders on Nov. 1. All the momentum that would have evaporated with two straight losses is back on their side.
“I think this game could give this offense confidence to realize we can believe and trust in everybody,” Mayfield said. “We always have a chance if we believe in that.”
Mayfield would not give his critics the satisfaction of saying “I told you so,” because that would mean acknowledging he is aware of Stephen A. Smith from ESPN, Colin Cowherd of FS1 and others.
“What criticism are you talking about?” Mayfield asked on Zoom.
You know, those national guys.
“Sorry, I don’t know who they are,” Mayfield
said.
Mayfield’s performance bailed out a defense that had no answer for Burrow. Myles Garrett had two more sacks, including a strip sack, and Denzel Ward broke up three passes. Most of the remaining defenders played as though they were in quarantine. The Browns have allowed 30 or more points in five of seven
games, yet are in playoff position with nine games to play.
“We’ll look back at the film and realize we can do a lot of things better early on and help out our team overall. But there are a lot of things that we did in the second half to build on — critical plays that were made and guys stepping up,” Mayfield said. “That’s the most impor
tant part. Like I said a few weeks ago, it’s always better to learn from a win than a loss.”
The 5-2 record is the best for the Browns since they were 6-1 in 1994 — the last year they won a playoff game.