CLEVELAND — Baker Mayfield has received no shortage of criticism in the aftermath of the Cleveland Browns' 38-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
That includes comments made by NFL analyst -- and former Steelers safety -- Ryan Clark, who said on ESPN's Get Up that despite Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski's best efforts to protect him, Mayfield's struggles have impeded the Browns' progress as a team.
"Last year, the Cleveland Browns tried to build their house on the foundation that was Baker Mayfield and that house was built on sand, it wasn’t built on brick, it wasn’t built on stone," Clark said on Monday morning. "And so this year, they tried a new thing. They said, 'you know what, we’re gonna build a house around Baker Mayfield to protect him' and what he’s done already is lit the fire that is gonna burn this house down.
"You can’t win with a quarterback who plays football this way. The games that they’ve won this season, Kevin Stefanski has found ways to protect Baker Mayfield. They run the football. They use the boot. They try to find ways to get him out of the pocket to get him easy throws."
In particular, Clark noted the pick-6 interception that Mayfield threw to Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, which gave Pittsburgh an early 10-0 lead. According to Clark, that play changed the way the Steelers were able to play defense for the remainder of the game, creating a hectic environment that resulted in one of the worst statistical games of Mayfield's three-year career.
"Baker Mayfield foiled that plan himself with the easy interception and pick-6 to Minkah Fitzpatrick to start the game in the one whole defense that should be easy to recognize -- he misses it," Clark said. "And so now your team is behind. Now Keith Butler, the defensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers, can call run blitzes on first and second downs that also double as boot blitzes that keep Baker Mayfield inside the pocket."
Dealing with a ribs injury suffered a week prior against the Indianapolis Colts, Mayfield completed 10 of his 18 pass attempts for 119 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions against the Steelers. Through six games this season, the No. 1 pick of the 2018 NFL Draft has completed 60.6 percent of his passes for 1,095 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions -- four of which have come in the past two weeks.
Despite Mayfield's struggles, Cleveland lays claim to a 4-2 record heading into Sunday's Week 7 matchup against the 1-4-1 Cincinnati Bengals. But according to Clark, even if they string together some wins, the Browns will always have a ceiling so long as Mayfield is their quarterback.
"This team is in trouble," Clark said. "And not necessarily in trouble in that they won’t win games or that they won’t find ways to fight for the wild card spot, but when you draft a guy No. 1 overall, that says I believe this guy is our franchise guy who can take us to the promised land. Baker Mayfield cannot. He is no Moses. They are not Israelites. They will be stuck and enslaved to who he is for a long time if he remains the quarterback."