Browns face painful dilemma with Mayfield
When Baker Mayfield isn't feeling dangerous, his passes usually sail high.
But the Browns quarterback wasn't just off in Sunday's 13-10 win over the Detroit Lions. He was way off.
High. Low. Wide. He even inexplicably sprinkled in some pinpoint accurate passes a few times.
Injuries played a role in Mayfield's wild inconsistency. The relevant ques- tions are to what extent and what the Browns can do about it with crucial back-to-back AFC North games against the Baltimore Ravens (7-3) on deck.
“We have a two-game series versus Baltimore with a bye in the middle of that,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said, “so we have to be at our best moving forward.”
If Mayfield is healthy, he's better than backup quarterback Case Keenum, but Mayfield isn't healthy, and he has struggled mightily the past two games. So the logical approach might be to rest Mayfield.
One could argue Mayfield should not have even finished the game against the Lions, not after he started limping on the Browns' final possession of the third quarter.
Mayfield finished 15-of-29 passing (51.7%) for 176 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions for a rating of 53.2. He went 4-of-11 passing (36.4%) for 52 yards with an interception for a rating of 14.2 in the second half.
Stefanski initially pointed to the cold, rainy weather on Cleveland's lakefront as a factor in Mayfield's balllocation woes.
Asked how much Mayfield's injuries affected his accuracy compared with the conditions, Stefanski said, “You could ask Baker, but as he has talked about and we have talked about, he's fighting through those things in what was not the greatest conditions to throw the ball.”
Correction: Reporters couldn't ask Mayfield the question because he bailed on his postgame news conference.
Typically, the only time a starting quarterback doesn't address media after a game is when he has been placed in concussion protocol. That wasn't the case with Mayfield. He admitted Monday he was simply frustrated.
Mayfield has been playing through an injured, left non-throwing shoulder since the second game of the season on Sept. 19. He has been wearing a harness in hopes of preventing the shoulder from repeatedly dislocating.
But Mayfield's newest injuries seem to be his greatest obstacles now. He injured his left heel Nov. 7 in Cincinnati and suffered a bruised knee Nov. 14 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Did Stefanski consider removing Mayfield from Sunday's game?
“He was cleared to go in there,” Stefanski said. “I think you guys know he's toughing it out, and he's battling."