BEREA, Ohio — The last time the Cleveland Browns took the field, quarterback Baker Mayfield was less than complimentary of the NFL’s officiating crew, and nearly two weeks after the team’s 32-28 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, he is not backing down from those comments.
Despite having a $12,500 fine levied against him, Mayfield stood fast on his opinions of the officiating.
“I knew I was going to get fined, but it needs to be said,” Mayfield said following Wednesday’s practice at team headquarters. “People have to be held accountable for their job. When it affects my job, it sucks because it is not in my control.”
Mayfield took umbrage with the officiating as it related to a blindside block penalty against wide receiver Jarvis Landry in the third quarter, which helped unravel a potential response drive for the Browns after the Seahawks took their first lead of the game.
“I will probably get fined for saying this, but it was pretty bad today,” Mayfield said at the time. “The guy is squared up with him, running at him and he is lowering his head into Jarvis. What is he supposed to do? Avoid him? This is not bull fighting. I don’t know. It ticks me off.”
The penalty was not the only problem Mayfield and the Browns had with the officiating, as another play involving Landry drew an impassioned response from the Cleveland sideline.
With the Browns facing a fourth-and-goal from the Seattle one-yard line, Mayfield took the snap and quickly fired a throw to Landry on the right side of the formation. Landry fumbled the ball into the end zone after appearing to break the plane of the goal line.
Ultimately, after a lengthy review, the Browns lost the challenge and a timeout. However, because Seattle drew a 12 men on the field penalty, the Browns got another chance to score on fourth down, where running back Nick Chubb was stopped short of the goal line.
“I would not say it was complaining when it was blatantly obvious,” Mayfield said. “I would say that is just stating facts. Freedom of speech, I thought that is okay, but I get fined for it. That is the league. That is what they do. They fine you for some ridiculous things.
“It is just how it is. There is a reason everybody is talking about it. It is not just me. It goes for every team. With how our team is, we are not going to get a lot of calls and we know that. Especially going into this week, there is no time to worry about it and no time to stress about it. Just play our game.”
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While Mayfield feels the Browns will not get many calls because of their outspokenness about the officials, he and his teammates are focused on the task at hand: facing the undefeated New England Patriots (7-0) at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Sunday.
“For us, it is about us,” Mayfield said. “It is a great challenge for us going up against a team like that, but we have to do our job. They are going to do everything they can to get us to not do our job well, so we have to focus on that.
“Not worry about too much, focus on your job and do your 1/11th on offense, defense and special teams and go attack each play. It is going to be a full fight, four quarters, so we have to be able to do that.”