The Browns are no longer in the running for a postseason spot because of what happened on Sunday of Week 17... and that might be a good thing. Because if Baker Mayfield's first-half stats came in a game that had playoff implications, it would be ugly in Cleveland. Really, really ugly.
We're not saying that a second-half comeback is impossible at this point, as the Steelers are only up by 10 points. But we are saying that the Browns quarterback looked sharper in the first half of Week 16, when he threw not one, not two, but three interceptions against the Packers. Somehow, he was more productive that time around, as he at least tossed a touchdown before the end of the half.
This time? He's just 4-for-15 with 58 yards, no touchdowns, an interception and two sacks taken for 17 yards lost. That stat line looked a whole lot worse before a pair of completions to Donovan Peoples-Jones and Jarvis Landry in the Browns' final drive of the second quarter, too. At one point, he was a 2-for-13 and had accomplished a remarkably undesirable statistical achievement in the process.
According to ESPN's Field Yates, he was the first player in the NFL this season to throw ten incompletions in a row within one game. Yikes.
Granted, they're not all his fault. There's a number of factors at play here. But you can pretty safely assume that this statistic isn't a good thing. In fact, Mayfield had one more consecutive incompletion than the Browns have total rushing attempts. Double yikes.
We'll see what the second half can bring to the Browns offense, but it won't exactly come as a surprise if it isn't too pretty.
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