Mayfield, Browns bruised after blasting by 49ers
CLEV ELAND» Baker Mayfield apparently offended Richard Sherman and paid for it. Mayfield got hunted, bear-hugged, sacked and mocked by Nick Bosa in front of a national TV audience.
On a trip out west, the Browns wentsouth.
The 49ers utterly beat them down. Mayfield was under siege by San Francisco’s ferocious defensive front and played the worst game of his young career Monday night, and Cleveland’s lines were overpowered throughout a 31-3 loss to the 49ers that has raised new questions about the Browns’ quarterback, coach Freddie Kitchens and the future.
After five games, the Browns (2-3) are an enigma. Good one week, bad the next. This time, brutally bad.
“We do not want to be an up-anddown, roller-coaster football team if we want to get to where we want to get to,” Kitchens said Tuesday on a conference call.
The high expectations placed on the Browns during the preseason, a rosy outlook based solely on talent and potential, not only seem unfounded but unfeasible.
Against the well-rested and underrated Niners, Mayfield threw two of his league-high eight interceptions, got sacked four times, finished with just 100 yards passing and a 13.4rating.
He inadvertently set the tone for the dismal performance before kickoff, when Sherman said the Browns’ brash QB disrespected him by not shaking his hand before the coin toss. Sherman insisted the slight motivated him and the Niners.
“That’s some college (stuff),” Sherman told NFL Network. “It’s ridiculous ... shaking hands with your opponent — that’s NFL etiquette. And when you pull bush league stuff, that’s disrespectful to the game. And believe me, that’s gonna get us fired up.”
Sherman backed off a bit when video surfaced of his chilly pregame exchange with Mayfield, who appeared to shake the cornerback’s hand.
“So you don’t see any difference in the way I shake everyone else’s hand and the guy who stands back with the petty shake,” Sherman said on Twitter when challenged about his claims.
Sherman picked off Mayfield on Cleveland’s second series.
One of Mayfield’s college stunts also came back to haunt him.
Bosa, the No. 2 overall pick from Ohio State, pressured Mayfield into an intentional grounding call and celebrated by pretending to wave and plant a flag. The gesture was aimed at Mayfield, who in 2017 tried to impale an Oklahoma flag into the turf at Ohio Stadium after leading the Sooners to a win over the Buckeyes.
“He had it coming,” said Bosa. There’s no denying Mayfield and the Browns, who played a strong allaround game last week in a win at Baltimore, are a target.
All the hype has made them one of the league’s top attractions — probably long before they deserved to be. But it has also built them up to be dragged down as they’re facing adversity and the scrutiny that comes along with being on magazine covers and network commercials.
Mayfield has brought some of it on with his attitude and antics — old and new.
It all starts with him, and until they start winning consistently, he and the Browns will be under attack.
“Once again, we’re not hitting the panic button,” Mayfield said. “For us, we know the problem. We know we have to be better and do better. When you play a great team, you have to eliminate mistakes. We know exactly what we need to do. We need to play well.” NFL