The 2020 Cleveland Browns Are Not A Baker Mayfield Story

Trey Daubert/NFL/October 16, 2020

The Cleveland Browns, 4-1, are off to their hottest start since Bill Belichick was the coach. But they sure as hell are not winning because of their quarterback; 2020 Browns is not a Baker Mayfield story. Cleveland is winning with coaching, defense, and the run game.

Cleveland has been better this season than a year ago, mostly because Mayfield is staying out of the way. Kevin Stefanski has done an excellent job dialing up run plays and mixing in Mayfield’s play-action to keep teams off balance.

The Browns run the ball more than any football team, throwing the ball just 48.35% of the time. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt have carried this offense. Hell, D’Ernest Johnson is getting a significant amount of carries now.

Let’s think about this for a second; what was the season’s most impressive pass play? The clear winner is Jarvis Landry. A wide receiver made the best pass all year by the Browns.

JARVIS LANDRY THROWS A TOUCHDOWN TO OBJ! #Browns

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Overall, Mayfield’s numbers aren’t terrible. 61.2% with a 9-4 TD to INT ratio is okay. 6.4 yards per attempt not so much, but the pure numbers don’t tell the whole story.

The Browns don’t trust him to carry this offense: Albeit, an offense with tons of star power. There’s a clear difference in the stat line when Mayfield gets more attempts in each game.

Baker Mayfield — (Pro Football Reference)

When Mayfield’s attempts are up, he struggles. For Mayfield to succeed, it needs to be a run on first and second downs, and maybe we will consider throwing the ball on third. Any more than 30 attempts per game, and Mayfield has struggled.

The defense is a big story for the Browns. More so than anything, it’s a Myles Garrett story. If you want to argue that Garrett is the year’s defensive player, I will not object. Garrett has six sacks in five games and also has forced three critical fumbles.

Baker Mayfield Is EXACTLY Who I Thought He Would Be

The Browns might be winning football games, but let’s make one thing clear. The 2020 Browns are not a Baker Mayfield story. It’s very reminiscent of the Case Keenum miracle Vikings. A team that Stefanski also played a pivotal part in.

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