CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – A pair of streaks ended with Monday night’s 47-42 loss to the Ravens – the Browns’ 4-game win streak and Baker Mayfield’s 5-game interception-less streak.
Don’t go blaming the quarterback for either.
Mayfield was sensational against the Ravens completing a season-high 28 passes for a season-high 343 yards as he helped rally the Browns from multiple deficits in the second half only to see Baltimore squeeze it out in the end.
“Baker is obviously, I think, playing at a high level,” Stefanski said. “He does not lack confidence, and I say that in a good way. That is who he has always been, which is great. I think what you are seeing is the comfort level is certainly growing. That also goes back to all of the work he puts into this. He is a get-in-early, stay-late type of player, grinds on it and gets extra work out on the practice field. I think you are just seeing all of the fruits of his labor.”
Since the bye week when Stefanski, Mayfield and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt got together – virtually – to sort through the details of the offense and what was or wasn’t working, he’s completing nearly 64% of his passes for 1,271 yards with 8 touchdowns and an interception with a rating of 105.0.
The interception, which saw Ravens linebacker Tyus Bowser drop into coverage and reach out with his right hand to snag the football before it made its way to Rashard Higgins in the third quarter set the Ravens up to push their lead back to 14 with a 1-yard touchdown from J.K. Dobbins after the Browns had scored and then gotten Baltimore off the field.
It was the first interception thrown by the 2018 No. 1 pick since Week 7 at Cincinnati, spanning 187 passing attempts.
“You have a real disappointing play there, they get the ball on the one and they score, and it is very easy to feel that momentum and feel the energy get taken from you,” Stefanski said. “I did not get that sense from him or the guys on the sideline. I just think they automatically knew what the task at hand was and they knew what was required so I saw some resolve from them in that regard.”
Stefanski blamed himself for the play call and putting Mayfield “in a tough spot” after the game Monday night, a point he reiterated Tuesday afternoon.
“With interceptions and how we coach the position, they are not all created equal – some are tipped balls, some are bad reads and all of those type of things,” Stefanski said. “I think you learn from every single one of them. Certainly, we are learning from that one and pointing the finger at myself that I can do better in that regard.”
The pick and loss aside, Mayfield continues to grow comfortable under Stefanski.
For all the criticism Mayfield gets, what he has accomplished early in his career in Cleveland is remarkable.
He’s the only quarterback in franchise history to amass 10,000 passing yards in his first three years as well as throw for at least 2,500 yards in each of his first three seasons.
Mayfield is already in the top-5 for touchdown passes with 72 in franchise history.
Prior to his arrival the Browns could barely win a game. The franchise is 21-21 with him starting and his 42 consecutive starts are an expansion era record for a team that fielded 29 different starters from 1999-2018.
And let us not forget that in his third season the Browns are legitimate playoff contenders at 9-4 for the first time in 12 years.
With Mayfield at the helm, the Browns offense is putting up points rarely seen since the team returned.
The Browns are averaging 26.8 points per game this season, the highest average per game in the expansion era. They have scored 348 points to date – with 3 games to play – which is the third highest point total since 1999 trailing the 2007 (402) and 2018 seasons (359).
“You want the trigger man to be playing freely and with confidence, and I see that with Baker,” Stefanski said. “He understands he has to do it again this week. These challenges keep coming at you. I would just go back to my confidence in all of our players comes from the work they put in throughout the week, and Baker is no exception to that.”
