CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Since the Bye week, Baker Mayfield seems to have found himself.
The confidence and swagger that he’d been known for playing with that convinced the Browns to pick him No. 1 overall in 2018 has returned.
“Playing with confidence is where I am at my best,” Mayfield said.
The numbers don’t lie.
Through the first eight games Mayfield was completing 61.4% of his passes while throwing for 1,514 yards with 15 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
The Browns were 5-3.
In the five games since the bye, Mayfield’s completion percentage is 63.6 with 1,271 yards passing and the touchdown to interception ratio is 8-1.
His rating has also jumped from 90.9 through eight games to 105.0 in the last five.
“He's working his butt off,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said.
Van Pelt along with head coach Kevin Stefanski invested a lot of time during the bye week working with Mayfield – going through the offense on what was working, not working, how he sees the field during plays and just getting on the same page.
The Browns are 4-1 and scoring over 4 points more per game since the bye, but Stefanski won’t take the credit for Mayfield’s elevated play.
“I'd say Baker's drawn the best out of Baker,” Stefanski said. “All of our guys are self-starters. They do a nice job with their work week. I go back to his work ethic. How he prepares is something that gives me great confidence.”
Mayfield was quick to credit Stefanski for the success they’ve been able to enjoy.
“Nobody wants to have to install a whole new system offense and defense through Zoom meetings, but what he did to keep everybody on track was extremely fundamental in our success right now,” Mayfield said. “He laid the foundation.”
Despite the adjustments of working through a pandemic this year and not being able to do much face-to-face except on the practice field, Mayfield has found much needed comfort with the organization led by Stefanski and executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry.
It is a luxury he was not afforded his first two years in Cleveland.
“Just how on the same page they were, which was new to me,” Mayfield said of his offseason observations that came from conversation he had with both of them. “That was a comforting feeling. You knew the potential was there. Nobody said it was going to be easy, and we are still getting better.
“That is the best part is we are continuing to improve as this goes on. We have laid a foundation and we need to continue to build and reset that standard.”
That standard has been elevated significantly since Mayfield's arrival.
Prior to his selection the Browns couldn't win a game and the franchise was coming off one of the worst stretches in NFL history that saw the team go 4-44 the previous three years.
At 9-4, they're positioned to finally end the NFL's longest playoff drought of 18 years.
The best word to describe 2020 for Mayfield and the Browns is an easy one – resiliency.
Regardless of what happens, be it an interception, giving up a lead or losing a game, Mayfield and the Browns continuously have found ways to bounce back.
Monday night’s loss to the Ravens didn’t do much damage to their playoff prospects, the Browns still retained the top Wild Card slot, but they need to get back on track Sunday night against the Giants and Mayfield will be counted on to lead the way.
“Every single game is the most important one,” Mayfield said. “Obviously, like have I said, we have a big picture mindset, but the singular focus is just so vital right now to get into the postseason playoff race. We know we have to take care of business this week, and we are going to have that singular laser focus.”
