MAYFIELD HAS BRUTAL FIRST HALF.
Rookie QB Mayfield’s three first-half picks put Browns into a deep hole
Gregg Williams, the veteran NFL coach who wrapped up his first month as interim head coach of the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, is well-versed in the art of looking into a player’s eyes and sensing fear or indecision.
Williams said he saw none of that from Baker Mayfield, the Browns’ brash rookie quarterback from Austin Lake Travis who had three first-half interceptions against the Texans before throwing for more than 300 yards in the second half.
“He’s fearless,” Williams said. “Never once did he back down at all.
“This is a learning process. (I) don’t like it. He doesn’t like it, either. But he came back out in the second half and was more effective, and we have to do a better job around him.”
Mayfield completed just five of 13 passes with three interceptions in the first half for 46 yards and a passer rating of 9.3. In the second half, he was 24-for-30 with 351 yards and a touchdown, and he would have had a second score if not for a fumble by Antonio Callaway at the end of a 71-yard catch-and-run to the Texans’ 2-yard line in the third quarter.
He was not sacked for the third game in a row, and his second-half passer rating was 126.3.
“It’s on me to take care of the ball,” Mayfield said. “If we do that in the first half, we’re definitely in that game, zero questions. I’ve got to be able to execute, and you’ve got to be able to start faster and do that early.”
Williams said the Texans, under veteran defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, were effective early in disguising coverages and undercutting routs on throws that Mayfield completed in back-to-back wins over the Falcons and Bengals.
Mayfield blamed indecision in waiting too long to throw the ball for two of the three interceptions, one of which was returned 38 yards by linebacker Zach Cunningham for a second-quarter touchdown and the other that was picked by cornerback Jonathan Joseph as he stepped in front of Callaway on Cleveland’s next possession.
The third, picked off by Andre Hal at the goal line with under two minutes to play in the second quarter, “was just a dumb throw,” Mayfield said.
The turnovers put the Browns into a 23-0 halftime hole, and they squandered their best chance at a comeback after closing within 23-7 when a holding penalty wiped out a 76-yard TD throw to Callaway that was followed two plays later by the 71-yarder to Callaway that ended with a fumble.
“That game doesn’t reflect how close we were,” Mayfield said. “We were very close on a lot of things, and that is the encouraging thing we have to build on.”
Of the second-half rebound, he said, “That’s how the first half should have gone if we had executed our stuff. … If I can take care of the ball, this game is close.”
At 4-7-1, even with two wins under Williams, the Browns remain in last place in the AFC North and aren’t likely to mount a playoff challenge. But in a season where the recent trend line has been up, Williams likes what he sees from the rookie.
“Never once on the sideline did he back off, and that is what good leaders do,” Williams said.
Mayfield’s primary challenge, the coach said, is diagnosing the more complicated nature of NFL coverage schemes. But he also has made strides in checking into better plays at the line of scrimmage and making adjustments to avoid the pass rush against a Texans defensive that had six sacks last Monday night against the Titans.
“There have been some ups and downs,” Mayfield said. “I was getting more consistent, and today was a little bit different. It’s a challenge when you play a team like (the Texans). … There are a lot of things to learn.”
Aside from the game outcome, Mayfield was able to play in front of friends and family in his return to Texas, and the Oklahoma Sooners, with whom he won the 2017 Heisman Trophy, qualified Sunday afternoon for the College Football Playoff field.
“Good for them,” he said of the Sooners. “I’m excited for them. It’s another shot. Once you get in, you’ve got a chance.”
As for the Heisman, in which he has a vote for the first time as a past winner, he said he plans to vote for Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, who led the Sooners to a Big 12 title game win over Texas.
“Take (Murray) out, and you’re not in the playoffs,” Mayfield said. “After being around him, it might be easy for me to say how special a player he is, but to me, it’s obvious.
“Nothing against (Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa). He had an incredible year, but I think it showed for itself (Saturday).”