x
Breaking News
More () »

Baker Mayfield: 'Self-inflicted wounds' led to early season struggles

Baker Mayfield said on Tuesday that fixing self-inflicted issues has played a large role in the Cleveland Browns' recent turnaround.

CLEVELAND — Hosting TownHall's annual Feed the Need event alongside his wife Emily, Baker Mayfield was focused on helping serve more than 4,000 warm meals to the needy on Tuesday.

But as one might expect, football wasn't far from the Cleveland Browns quarterback's mind.

So when Emily, who also happens to be a special correspondent for 3News' Lunch Break, asked her husband about the secret behind the Browns' recent turnaround, Mayfield hardly flinched.

"It's just a smooth transition for us," the second-year signal-caller said. "We made a lot of errors, some self-inflicted wounds in the beginning. We're starting to fix those and now we're seeing the progress.

That progress has manifested itself in the form of a three-game winning streak heading into this weekend's matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Laying claim to a 5-6 record, Cleveland now finds itself just one game back in a still-muddled AFC Wild Card race.

Mayfield's assessment on the matter, meanwhile, hardly qualifies as a revelation, as turnovers and penalties plagued the Browns throughout their 2-6 start. It's hardly a coincidence that after throwing a league-high 12 interceptions through Cleveland's first seven games, Mayfield has now been picked off just once over the course of the past four weeks.

Of course, it hasn't hurt matters that the Browns' competition has decreased in difficulty and the former No. 1 pick was willing to admit as much. However, he was also quick to point out that the seeds for his team's turnaround were planted before it even began.

"Obviously the schedule helps," Mayfield said. "We were making progress before that."

RELATED: Baker & Emily Mayfield host 'Feed the Need' event at TownHall

RELATED: Watch again: Lunch Break with Jay Crawford talks Orion shuttle, local cheerleaders in the Macy's parade, & a funny take on Thanksgiving etiquette

RELATED: Cleveland Browns waive DT Devaroe Lawrence

RELATED: Report: Steelers bench Mason Rudolph; Devlin Hodges to start against Browns

RELATED: The Baker Mayfield Report: QB looks for consistency after Cleveland Browns’ win over Miami Dolphins

RELATED: What are the Browns' playoff odds after win over Dolphins?

RELATED: Baker Mayfield: Cleveland Browns ‘made strides offensively’ against Miami Dolphins

RELATED: Baker Mayfield: ‘People need to fear coming to Cleveland’ to face the Browns

Before You Leave, Check This Out