CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield was as frustrated as he’s ever been following Sunday’s 13-10 win over the Lions.
Between the injuries and another uneven day on the field, Mayfield quickly left FirstEnergy Stadium after the win, the Browns sixth of the season to keep them alive in the AFC North and Wild Card race.
“I was frustrated, among other things,” Mayfield said. “I mean I’ve never dodged any questions or hid, so just frustrated, removed those emotions and all of that from it and decided it was best to wait.”
Mayfield spoke via Zoom Monday afternoon, a day after declining to field questions after the game.
He pushed back on the notion that he wasn’t holding himself accountable by not speaking with reporters.
“Not one part of that is not being accountable,” Mayfield said. “I’d be the first to tell you I played like s---, so it’s not about accountable and I don’t owe you guys any of that. I owe that to my teammates, and I talked to them. So that’s what matters.”
After taking a knee to run out the final seconds on the clock, Mayfield walked to the locker room, passing on the customary postgame handshakes and hugs with teammates and the Lions.
Mayfield explained why that wasn’t as big of a deal as it is being made of.
“My guys know that all I care about is winning, but I’m going to be frustrated if I do stuff to make it harder on us and I did yesterday and that’s just flat out where it was,” Mayfield said. “I’m never going to take winning for granted. That’s something that’s very hard to do in this league and it hasn’t been a very common thing around here for a long time. So I’m just frustrated with how I played and that’s how I’ve always been. They know I’m going to come back and attack this week and that’s how I’ve always been.”
Mayfield, who is battling bone bruises in his right knee and left heel in addition to the torn labrum in his left shoulder, completed 15 of 29 passes for 176 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
At times Mayfield showed his mobility getting out of the pocket and running for positive yardage against the Lions. He made some tough throws, but he missed others – two of them in the direction of receiver Jarvis Landry were intercepted.
“For me, decision-making was great. It was the lack of execution,” Mayfield said. “I think there were some plays… I am not going to make every throw – nobody does that – but very, very frustrated with where I was going with the ball compared to how the results were. That is very, very frustrating.
“I have always been an accurate guy, and that was not the case yesterday. That is extremely frustrating to me when I feel like I let my teammates down.”
In the second half as the Browns offense continued to sputter, fans started booing.
Mayfield dismissed the impact that had on him.
“Those are probably the same fans that won’t be quiet while we’re on offense and trying to operate,” Mayfield said. “So don’t really care.”
Mayfield was visibly in pain in the fourth quarter, limping on and off the field but he won’t miss time.
“I do expect to be in better condition than I have in the past weeks,” Mayfield said. “No major setbacks by any means. You are going to be sore on a Monday. That is just the nature of this game. Yeah, I feel good about our plan of attack, everybody being on the same page and where we are right now. I feel positive about everything that we are doing.”
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday he never considered pulling Mayfield due to injury even though backup Case Keenum started to warm up.
“He is battling,” Stefanski said. “He does not feel 100 percent and I do not know many guys that do feel 100 percent at this point, but he is definitely battling.”
Mayfield plans to play this week against the Ravens and Stefanski plans to let him.
“If he is ready to go, yes, he will start,” Stefanski said.
Since Mayfield suffered the torn labrum against the Texans in Week 2, the Browns have scored 26 or more points just three times.
“I think it is a lot of things, but we just have to put it all together,” Mayfield said. “We have shown flashes. Like I said, we improved in the red zone, but we have to put it all together.”
In five of Mayfield’s last seven starts the Browns have scored 14 or fewer points and they’ve lost three of those games. Only Sam Darnold has more games with a passer rating under 60 this season than Mayfield does.
Baltimore leads the AFC North at 7-3 while the Browns are in last place at 6-5 but two wins in the next three weeks can flip the script.
“This is a huge, huge game for us,” Mayfield said. “Big-picture wise, everybody wants to act like the world is falling. No, we have not played to our potential, and we know that more than anybody because we sit there and watch the film and we know what we are supposed to do. We have six wins, and the Ravens are leading the division with seven.
“We know what is at stake. We know what we need to do, and that is how we are going to handle it this week.”