CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield got a sense of what the rivalry with the Pittsburgh Steelers is like when the teams fought to a 21-21 tie in the 2018 regular-season opener at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday, September 9.
And now, Mayfield will get more than a sense, as he will make his first start in the rivalry against the Steelers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh Sunday.
“Absolutely, can feel it from our crowd,” Mayfield said during his weekly press conference Wednesday. “That was the first game of the year, so a little bit different, but yeah, absolutely can sense the physicality of this game. That is kind of how all of our division games go. I got a good taste for it.”
Mayfield is used to playing on the big stage, as he spent three years competing in one of college football’s most heated and longest-running rivalries while quarterbacking the University of Oklahoma Sooners against The University of Texas Longhorns.
Despite added pressure in rivalry games, Mayfield embraces the opportunity to compete in such a meaningful matchup, one he expects to be especially physical in Pittsburgh.
“Football is a physical game, and when it comes to rivalry games, that is when it is the most physical,” Mayfield said.
“A lot of things, assignment errors and stuff like that can be overcome by imposing your will on the other team. That is what the AFC North is about, and that is what this rivalry is about. When it comes down to it, you have to do your job, but a lot of the time, the team that runs the ball the best and is the most physical wins.”
Last Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, was the Browns’ third non-winning result in four overtime games in the first seven weeks of the 2018 regular season, as they came up short in three-point losses at New Orleans and in Oakland along with the season-opening tie against the Steelers at FirstEnergy Stadium.
All but one of the Browns’ four losses this season have come because of a field goal in the last minute of regulation or overtime.
Despite being close in three of those four losses, the Browns still find themselves two games behind the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens in the win column and two in the loss column in back of the Steelers in the AFC North Division standings.
“They play hard,” Mayfield said of the Steelers. “Obviously, they have a lot of talent everywhere. That is the obvious thing, but they play hard. They play with each other, and they feed off the energy. They feed off of the big plays that they are making. It will be a great test for us.
“If we come out with a win on Sunday, that is a huge division win. The Steelers are leading it right now. We like to think of it as these games count as two down the road. We need to take advantage of this opportunity and put ourselves in a good spot moving forward.”
Stream Live with fuboTV -Try Free Trial