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Thursday night is a must-win for Baker Mayfield and the Browns

By Steven Kubitza

BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 13: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns reacts to a call during the second half of the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on September 13, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 13: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns reacts to a call during the second half of the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on September 13, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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Baker Mayfield and the Browns cannot afford a loss Thursday night.

The Cleveland Browns had a Week 1 to forget. The same goes for Baker Mayfield. The team got destroyed by a final score of 38-6 against the Baltimore Ravens and Mayfield managed to throw for just 189 yards in the loss.

The game was a disaster and the Browns had to move on quickly as the team is in action Thursday night against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. The team managed to turn a Week 1 embarrassment into a 1-1 record last season. Now they must do the same in 2020 to avoid unnecessary distraction and storylines from popping up when it is still September.

Baker Mayfield under a microscope Thursday night

Mayfield has had a tough time so far in the NFL. Kevin Stefanski is his fourth head coach in three seasons, if you count Gregg Williams, and the offensive staff has been changing as well. Being drafted No. 1 overall doesn’t mean he is capable of overcoming all that dysfunction.

But there are other problems with the young quarterback. He can’t seem to make quick decisions and chooses to bail on a clean pocket far too often. This all happens with Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. as his top two receivers.

History has not been kind to the Browns in season openers since 1999. The team has won an opener one time, in 2004, and tied another. The rest are all losses so starting 0-1 is nothing new. However, the goal this season is to make it into the expanded postseason. Starting 0-2 puts the team at a huge disadvantage before the schedule even gets tough.

Another bad outing from Mayfield doesn’t just hurt the team’s playoff chances. Case Keenum is the backup this year after Mayfield had zero competition behind him in 2019. Stefanski just took a job that saw the last guy be booted out after one season. He doesn’t want to just punt on the season just because of where Mayfield was drafted.

The Browns have become the kings of dysfunction over the past two decades. Winning is the one cure and getting to 1-1 puts the team right back on track to fight for the postseason. That shuts down the talk of benching Mayfield and of trading Beckham as well.

dark. Next. Browns are really, really banged up for Thursday

Browns fans have seen this same story play out nearly every year since 1999. Now there is actually talent in place to make winning a reality. If they lose, well, it’s the same ‘ole Browns.

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