EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Following the Cleveland Browns' 23-16 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, there were plenty of excuses that Baker Mayfield could have made.
After all, the Browns entered the contest missing their top four wide receivers, who had each been placed on the NFL's reserve/COVID-19 list, as well as two starting offensive linemen due to injury/illness.
Yet despite Cleveland's wide receiving corps consisting of three players who had yet to play a snap for the Browns this season -- including two who were called up from the team's practice squad on Sunday -- Mayfield wasn't prepared to play the blame game following the loss. Rather, Cleveland's starting quarterback made it clear that he didn't play well enough, providing just one answer in his postgame press conference.
"I'm just going to go ahead and answer all the questions right now," a visibly frustrated Mayfield said in what amounted to a two-minute monologue. "It's no excuse. Yeah, it sucks that we didn't have our guys, but we believe in the guys in this locker room, no matter who it is. That's why they're here. That's why they're Cleveland Browns. That's why they were brought here. That's why we suited them out. We believe in them and I told every single one of those guys that.
"There's no excuse. Plain and simple, I failed this team. I put three balls on the ground. Two of them that they recovered and then the other, on the fourth down, obviously you need to just hold onto the damn ball. Plain and simple, I just need to hold onto the damn ball and I failed this team. We had what we needed to win this game, and I didn't do good enough. That's it."
As Mayfield mentioned, his three turnovers played a critical role in the Browns' loss to the 1-13 Jets, who converted the two recovered fumbles into 10 points. His third fumble came on a quarterback sneak on 4th and 1 at New York's 16-yard line with 1:25 remaining in the game and resulted in a turnover on downs to effectively end the game.
Yet despite Cleveland's loss, the Browns still control their own destiny in their quest to end the NFL's longest active postseason drought (17 years). With a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers next week, Cleveland will clinch one of the AFC's three Wild Card spots, while a loss to its division rival could keep the Browns on the outside looking in at the playoffs for an 18th straight year.
"This one's going to sting for a day or two but we have the Steelers to win and get in," Mayfield said. "Yes, I'm aware of what could have happened if we would have won today. I'm well aware of that. But it is what it is. So I'm going to have to roll with these punches, backs against the wall and we have to win to get in. And you know what? This group fought today. But I didn't do enough, I didn't play well enough for us to win. And that's it."