CLEVELAND — Quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns had four chances to score the game-tying touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday night, but they were unable to move the ball across the goal line and force overtime.
Mayfield fired four straight incompletions in a goal-to-go situation from the Los Angeles four-yard line in the waning seconds, and the Rams’ defensive stand secured a 20-13 win in front of a national-television audience on NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcast.
“Disappointed more than anything because when you play a team like that, it is all the little things it comes down to,” Mayfield said following the loss. “That is why it was fourth-and-goal right there at the end. It is all the little details to build up to the end, and if you do not take care of them, it will come back to haunt you.
“I think we matched up well against them. I do not think it is like they are that much better than us. I think they are a great team, but we have to do our job. When you look at everything that happened tonight, if we do our job, I think we handle business. That is what I think we will learn from the film. A lot of things to learn from that film.”
Here is a breakdown of Mayfield’s second home start of the 2019 regular season.
What Mayfield did?
Mayfield completed 18 of his 36 attempts (50 percent) for 195 yards and one touchdown with an interception on the Browns’ last offensive play of the game, a fourth-and-goal from the Rams’ four-yard line that was caught off of a deflection.
Analysis
Browns coach Freddie Kitchens has said countless times this season that he needs to put the players in better positions to succeed, and if that is the case, running go routes backed up against the shadows of one’s own goal line is not always the most helpful thing to a quarterback.
The Browns would be better suited to use the run and the short/intermediate passing games to set up the down-the-field strikes. Following the example of the reigning Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots, the Browns could use crossing routes, slants and short outs to allow Mayfield some underneath completions that get the ball into the hands of his playmakers in space and sets up longer throws.
“I think we have to be more consistent with everybody doing their job,” Mayfield said. “It seems right now we have one guy out of place or I am not doing my job. It is one thing every play. We have to eliminate that, first and foremost.”
What’s next?
Mayfield and the Browns get a break from the primetime spotlight for a week when they travel to M&T Bank Stadium to play the Baltimore Ravens in one of their rare early-afternoon starts during the 2019 season, but the respite from the bright lights will be a short-lived one.
After playing the Ravens, the Browns will travel to San Francisco for a Monday Night Football matchup against the 49ers.
What are they saying?
“Don’t hit the panic button,” Mayfield said. “I think we realize how close we are, but that is the frustrating part. We can’t have continued mistakes -- the same thing over and over again. We have to do our job.
“Have to hit the reset button. Look at the film. Learn from it. I think we improved in a lot of areas, but when you play a team like that, the little mistakes will get you. We have to eliminate that. Next week, we have another good opponent that is playing well right now.”