Baker Mayfield is having an awful day against the Browns

Baker Mayfield made his first start for the Carolina Panthers against his former team, the Cleveland Browns. It has not gotten off to the start he had envisioned.

Week 1 was filled with storylines, such as Carson Wentz facing off against former head coach Doug Pederson. But the one game in the early slate of opening weekend that garnered the most attention was the Carolina Panthers hosting the Cleveland Browns.

Of course, this was Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield starting against the team that selected him first overall in 2018, and traded him this offseason after they replaced him with the now-suspended Deshaun Watson.

Mayfield may have downplayed the “revenge game” storyline for Sunday, but fans were curious just how well he would perform against Cleveland. The answer to that was…not well in the first half.

At one point in the first 30 minutes of the game clock, Mayfield was 5-for-11 on his pass attempts for 11 yards and one interception. Not only that, but Mayfield fumbled the ball twice but luckily for him, Carolina did not lose possession.

Baker Mayfield’s rough start vs. Browns in Week 1

The interception proved to be a bit costly for Carolina. In the second quarter, Mayfield threw a pass to safety Grant Delpit. Cleveland capitalized five plays later after Jacoby Brissett, who is filling in for Watson during his suspension, connected with running back Kareem Hunt on a one-yard touchdown pass.

The Browns extended their lead 14-0 later on their next drive, ending with a 24-yard touchdown run by Hunt.

Mayfield did get the Panthers on the board before halftime, as an eight-play, 75-yard drive ended on a one-yard touchdown run by Christian McCaffrey, cutting their deficit to 14-7.

At the end of the first half, Mayfield completed 10-of-18 pass attempts for 101 yards, zero touchdowns, and the aforementioned interception.

Not the greatest of starts for the Panthers, as they trailed 17-7 at halftime.