Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield has been named the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week for the seventh time this season.
Mayfield won the fan vote for the Week 17 honor after completing 23 of his 42 attempts (54.8 percent) for 376 yards and three touchdowns against three interceptions in a 26-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore last Sunday.
Mayfield connected with eight different Browns players in the loss to the Ravens.
Earlier Wednesday, Mayfield was honored by ProFootballTalk.com as their Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“Only one rookie transformed a franchise,” PFT’s Mike Florio wrote. “Only one rookie brought swagger to a team that had none of it, for decades. Only one rookie broke the rookie record for touchdown passes in a season, putting up 27 to best the 26 from Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson.
“And that rookie didn’t even play until Week Three, when an injury to Tyrod Taylor opened the door for Mayfield to become the last name on that jersey of never-ending quarterbacks in Cleveland.”
In the loss to the Ravens, Mayfield broke the NFL rookie record with his 27th touchdown throw of the season with 3:24 to play in regulation against the Ravens.
On second-and-goal from the Baltimore one-yard line, Mayfield slipped a quick screen pass to fellow rookie Antonio Callaway on the left side of the formation. With wide receiver Rashard “Hollywood” Higgins drawing the attention of multiple defenders with a play fake, Callaway ducked around a tackle attempt and stepped across the goal line for the touchdown.
Mayfield’s touchdown to Callaway broke a first-place tie with Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks) and Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts).
“Baker’s a force,” wide receiver Breshad Perriman said. “He’s a beast. He goes out there with a killer mentality, and everybody just follows behind him. He makes great throws, does a good job leading this team.”
After taking over the first-team offense in the second quarter of a Week 3 win over the New York Jets, Mayfield completed 310 of his 486 attempts (63.8 percent) for 3,725 yards and 27 touchdowns against 14 interceptions.
Although Mayfield does not get official credit for the victory over the Jets because he came on in relief of an injured Tyrod Taylor, the first-year quarterback guided the Browns to seven wins and the greatest single-year turnaround in franchise history.
Individually, Mayfield set franchise records for the most passing touchdowns and yards by a rookie, and his 3,725 yards rank as the sixth-best single-season total in team history, regardless of years of service. Additionally, Mayfield had three of the top five passing yards games by a rookie, as well as the fourth-most accurate season of any Browns quarterback ever.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Mayfield won the fan vote for Pepsi Rookie of the Week seven times, was the NFL’s Rookie of the Month for November and earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors after leading the Browns to their first season sweep of the Bengals since 2002.
“He’s just scratched the surface,” interim coach Gregg Williams said after the win over the Ravens. “If you think he’s satisfied with that, there’s no way, no how.”