CLEVELAND — Quarterback Baker Mayfield started Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks playing the best football of the 2019 regular season, but like the rest of the Cleveland Browns, he was unable to maintain the initial results for a full game.
Mayfield played hurt for most of the second half, but did not miss a snap and did not use it as an excuse following the game. And neither did Browns coach Freddie Kitchens.
“I thought Baker was wired in, focused, concentrated during the course of the week,” Kitchens said. “We had the best week of practice that we have had and did not execute in the critical situations, and I did not call good enough plays in critical situations.
“We are going to get better each and every day, and we are going to be playing our best football the next time we go out.”
Here is a breakdown of Mayfield’s performance against the Seahawks.
What Mayfield did?
How would Mayfield respond after struggling through a lopsided loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football earlier in the week?
Well, initially, Mayfield started well against the Seahawks.
Mayfield engineered three straight scoring drives to start the game, and on the third, he found tight end Ricky Seals-Jones open along the right sideline for a 31-yard touchdown, which gave the Browns a 20-6 lead over the Seahawks with 14:54 to play in the first half.
It was the second touchdown of the game that Mayfield was responsible for, as late in the first quarter, he rushed for a 10-yard score. Mayfield’s rushing touchdown against the Seahawks was the first of his young NFL career.
Overall, Mayfield went 22 of 37 for 249 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions while playing much of the second half with an injured left hip.
Analysis
Mayfield rushed for a first down with an eight-yard run on third-and six, which moved the ball to the Seattle 48-yard line, but instead of sliding, he tried to spin out of a tackle attempt to gain an extra yard. After standing up at the end of the play, Mayfield appeared hobbled by an injury.
Throughout the rest of the drive, Mayfield seemed to favor his left side in the abdominal/hip area, and shortly after the possession came to a close, he headed to the locker room near the midway point of the third quarter.
However, before the Browns got back the ball, their quarterback was back on the sideline to warm up, and then, came back into the game without missing a snap.
“Baker is a tough individual,” Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said. “He is a tough quarterback, mentally and physically. He will be fine.
“He is our quarterback. He is going back in the game if he is healthy.”
What’s next?
A much-needed break.
After two consecutive losses and setbacks in three of the last four weeks, the Browns enter the annual bye week break, where they will practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then, have off Thursday through Sunday.
Following the bye week, the Browns will begin preparations for back-to-back road games, first against the New England Patriots (Sunday, October 27), and then, the Denver Broncos (Sunday, November 3).
What are they saying?
In addition to his head coach’s appreciation, Mayfield earned a measure of respect from his teammates for putting forth a gutsy performance by playing through the pain, but they expected nothing less than him returning to the game.
“He is a competitor and he is going to dig deep so he does not come out of the game,” wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said. “He couldn’t run, but he still is going to go back out there and help this team, even when he is banged up. He gave us his all, but we came up short.”
Running back Nick Chubb added, “He is tough and he is a warrior. He is not going to go down easy. I know he got hit pretty hard, but he fought through it and he was there for us.”