Baker Mayfield saw a lot of hype put on his plate when the Cleveland Browns made big moves during the offseason. However, he may have to throw away some of that hype after his team’s horrible opener.
The Browns suffered an embarrassing 43-13 defeat at the hands of the Tennessee Titans. Moreover, the 30-point gap doesn’t tell the gist of the story.
The biggest storyline in this loss is the franchise QB and how he struggled to play good football from the pocket in the game’s final frame.
Baker Mayfield completely collapsed in this one. 3 INTs in the 4th quarter, last one was a pick-6 and now losing 43-13.
They are 3 minutes left in the game.pic.twitter.com/0mXNcbNkmt
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 8, 2019
Mayfield’s three interceptions were very uncharacteristic of the QB who played great football his rookie year. Moreover, the 30-point loss is the biggest margin of defeat for the former Oklahoma Sooner as a starting QB in the NFL or college.
If Cleveland wanted to find any comfort in the loss, it’s the fact that Odell Beckham Jr. was not as injured as some people thought. His quality of play in the season opener showed that the team can count on their wideout to get them some touchdowns.
Some opposing fans probably loved how Mayfield got careless and gave away three interceptions in the opener. Given the man’s outspoken nature, he made a few enemies in the media box and in the stands of opposing teams.
However, he has always backed himself up with stats. He threw the most passing yards for a rookie at 3,725 yards. He beat Russell Wilson and Peyton Manning to get the record. While his 14 interceptions are a source for concern, his 27 touchdowns made up for it.
There’s no question that Mayfield will bounce back from this.
However, he needs less of these collapses and to play more consistently moving forward.