Opinion: Browns should sit Baker Mayfield, give starting QB time to heal

CLEVELAND — When Baker Mayfield isn't feeling dangerous, his passes usually sail high.

But the Browns quarterback wasn't just off in Sunday's 13-10 win over the Detroit Lions. He was way off.

High. Low. Wide. He even inexplicably sprinkled in some pinpoint accurate passes a few times. Go figure.

Injuries played a role in Mayfield's wild inconsistency. The relevant questions are to what extent and what the Browns will do about it with crucial back-to-back AFC North games against the Baltimore Ravens on deck.

If Mayfield is healthy, he's better than backup quarterback Case Keenum, but Mayfield isn't healthy, and he has struggled mightily the past two games.

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If the Browns (6-5) were to sit Mayfield on “Sunday Night Football” in Baltimore, it would give him two weeks to heal before the rematch with the AFC North-leading Ravens (7-3) on Dec. 12 in Cleveland. A Week 13 bye is sandwiched by the games.

Last in the division, the Browns really need to win both games to turn their disappointing season around and position themselves well in the playoff race.

“We have a two-game series versus Baltimore with a bye in the middle of that,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said after Sunday's ugly win, “so we have to be at our best moving forward.”

Stefanski can't possibly believe the Browns can win in Baltimore if he gets the type of quarterback play he did against the winless Lions (0-9-1).

The logical approach would be to rest Mayfield.

Mayfield should not have even finished the game against the Lions, not after he started limping on the Browns' final possession of the third quarter.

Mayfield finished 15-of-29 passing (51.7%) for 176 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions for a rating of 53.2. He went 11-of-18 passing (61.1%) for 124 yards and a touchdown with an interception for a rating of 77.1 in the first half. He went 4-of-11 passing (36.4%) for 52 yards with an interception for a rating of 14.2 in the second half.

Mayfield went 1-of-7 passing for minus-1 yard with an interception on the Browns' final four possessions of the game. Those possessions unfolded after he started limping.

Mayfield had another awful outing in last week's 45-7 loss to the New England Patriots (7-4), throwing for a career-low 73 yards.

Yes, Mayfield played well two weeks ago in a 41-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, but his health has significantly changed since then.

Mayfield has been playing through an injured, left non-throwing shoulder since the second game of the season on Sept. 19. He has been wearing a harness in hopes of preventing the shoulder from repeatedly dislocating.

But Mayfield's newest injuries seem to be his greatest obstacles now. He injured his left heel Nov. 7 in Cincinnati and suffered a bruised knee Nov. 14 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

He clearly can't roll out and pass as well on the move, but there are other problems.

Can he plant the left foot well enough when he throws? Can he consistently position his feet properly when he delivers the ball.

Stefanski initially pointed to the cold, rainy weather on Cleveland's lakefront as a factor in Mayfield's ball-location woes.

“It was sloppy. It was wet. It wasn't pristine for the pass game,” Stefanski said.

Asked how much Mayfield's injuries affected his accuracy compared with the conditions, Stefanski said, “You could ask Baker, but as he has talked about and we have talked about, he's fighting through those things in what was not the greatest conditions to throw the ball.”

Correction: Reporters couldn't ask Mayfield the question because he bailed on his postgame news conference.

Typically, the only time a starting quarterback doesn't address media after a game is when he has been placed in concussion protocol. That wasn't the case with Mayfield. A Browns spokesman said the quarterback simply declined to speak.

Are Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns on the same page?

There seems to be a disconnect somewhere.

For the first time in his NFL career, Mayfield wasn't gung-ho about pushing through injury when he spoke about it in the buildup to the Lions game. Stefanski sounded more confident about it in the middle of last week.

Then Mayfield played, had trouble doing so and stayed in the game despite Keenum throwing passes on the sideline to start the fourth quarter, a warm-up Stefanski said he didn't know had happened.

Did Stefanski consider removing Mayfield from the game?

“He was cleared to go in there,” Stefanski said. “I think you guys know he's toughing it out, and he's battling."

Asked how much say Mayfield had in the decision, Stefanski said, “Ultimately, we organizationally try to make the best decision we can with all of the information we have available to us with all of our guys. Certainly with each player, you talk to them as well and see where they are.”

Mayfield wasn't himself. Instead of celebrating the win with his teammates on the field, he made a beeline to the locker room immediately after the game. Then he left the stadium without meeting with Browns beat writers. Mayfield has never done that before.

Mayfield has never been this beaten up in his career, either, or booed by the home fans the way he was in the fourth quarter Sunday.

The hope Mayfield and the Browns shared entering the season that he would play himself into a long-term contract extension has not at all gone according to plan.

In their past six games, the Browns have scored more than 17 points just once. Mayfield's performance and Stefanski's play calling are under a microscope.

The frustration is palpable.

Mayfield's wife, Emily, shared a post from a fan Sunday night on her Instagram story, then deleted it. It read: “No one better say anything about bad about @bakermayfield after this game. I don't think I have seen toughness like this in a while. Maybe the rest of our team should take the hint and get tougher.”

Later, she tweeted, "Proud of our players’ grit today. A win’s a win’s a win. No matter how it gets done! #Browns."

Mayfield didn't want to sit out Oct. 21 against the Denver Broncos, but adding a fractured humerus bone to the shoulder in which he had suffered a completely torn labrum in Week 2 made resting him the best decision for the team. Keenum started and helped the Browns win 17-14 on “Thursday Night Football.”

Now Mayfield and the Browns must have an open, honest conversation about what will be best for the franchise in Baltimore.

Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry injures left knee after capitalizing on creative play

Wide receiver Jarvis Landry reinjured his left knee when Mayfield missed him low on an incomplete pass with 9:44 remaining in the third quarter.

Landry missed four games this season with a sprained medial collateral ligament in the same knee, then suffered another injury stemming from the sprained MCL on Oct. 21 against the Broncos.

Landry returned to the game against the Lions and served as a lead blocker for running back Nick Chubb on the Browns' penultimate possession.

“I don't know how [significant],” Stefanski said of the injury. “We'll find out tomorrow what that means.

“Jarvis, he's banged up, and then he wants to go back in there and wants to fight. He had a great, great play for a touchdown early — exactly how we drew it up. Just kidding. He made a great play.”

Stefanski alluded to Landry lining up behind center, taking a shotgun snap, surveying the field and running up the middle for a 16-yard touchdown with 14:52 left in the second quarter.

“It was not designed to do that,” Stefanski said. “I wish we did design it to do that, so we could take credit for it. That's just a great player making a great play.”

Neither Stefanski nor his players disclosed how the play was supposed to unfold.

“We've been practicing that play for a while,” left guard Joel Bitonio said. “I won't tell you what it was supposed to do, but he made the most of it. He made a great run. Anytime you get your playmakers the ball ... in the red zone, usually good things happen. So that was a big play for us. It got our momentum going.”

Landry played 48 of the offense's 74 snaps (65%). He caught four passes on eight targets for 26 yards. He still hasn't caught a touchdown pass this season.

Last week, Landry said he doesn't know why he hasn't been more involved with the offense, so being creative to ensure it happened proved to be a wise strategy by Stefanski.

Cleveland Browns rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah injures right ankle again

With 3:37 left in the third quarter, rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah suffered a right ankle injury while tackling tight end T.J. Hockenson on a catch for no gain. Owusu-Koramoah immediately limped to the sideline.

Stefanski said Owusu-Koramoah injured the same ankle that cost him three games earlier this season. The second-round draft pick landed on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain.

Owusu-Koramoah played 14 of the defense's 48 snaps (29%). He had four tackles, including one for loss.

Cornerback Denzel Ward, linebacker Malcolm Smith have crucial interceptions for Cleveland Browns

Although Mayfield threw two interceptions, the Browns earned a tie in the turnover battle because linebacker Malcolm Smith and cornerback Denzel Ward each picked off Lions quarterback Tim Boyle in his first regular-season NFL start.

“I saw some guys celebrating because we got some takeaways that we needed greatly,” Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said.

The Browns turned one of the interceptions into points. Landry's touchdown run capped an eight-play, 84-yard drive that followed Smith's pick.

On third-and-12 from the Cleveland 23-yard line, Boyle threw behind running back D'Andre Swift, and Smith made a juggling interception and returned it 1 yard to the Cleveland 16 with 4:46 left in the first quarter.

“That was huge,” Ward said. “Early in the game, Malcolm got the pick. We told him he’s got to catch it on the first time next time, get into the end zone. But that was big. He got one and got us off the field, got our offense in good field position.”

On first-and-10 from the Detroit 36, Boyle launched a deep ball to receiver Josh Reynolds, but Ward had tight coverage on Reynolds, jumped and intercepted the pass at the Cleveland 20 with 7:24 left in the third quarter.

“Throwing up a 50-50 ball and expecting Josh [Reynolds] to go make the play, but stuff like that happens sometimes,” Boyle said. “A good corner gets paid a lot of money and steps in front of the ball.”

Ward is good, and he's playing for a contract extension. He also had a pick-six two weeks ago against the Bengals.

“He's been lights out,” Garrett said.

Cleveland Browns continue to be plagued by penalties

The Browns had 10 penalties enforced against them for 82 yards, even worse than the Lions' seven for 67 yards.

“Very, very frustrating,” Stefanski said. “It's not good. It hurts you as a team. The pre-snap penalties where we're jumping offside are unacceptable. We have to get it cleaned up and we will. The players know it's just unacceptable.”

The Browns entered the weekend tied for third in most penalties (70 accepted) and second in most penalty yards (644) in the NFL.

The rest of the Browns' 2021 opponents are in the playoff hunt, so getting away with unforced errors won't be as likely as it wound up being Sunday.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com.