CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield is not one to make excuses, whether he gets hurt in the heat of competition or not, and Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers at FirstEnergy Stadium was no different.
Mayfield suffered an ankle injury during the first quarter and seemed to lose his mobility throughout the Browns’ (2-3-1) 38-14 loss to the Chargers (4-2), but he did not use it as an excuse for his performance in the setback.
“I am good,” Mayfield said after the loss. “I was able to finish out the rest of the game.”
On third-and-seven from the Cleveland 49-yard line, Mayfield shifted around the pocket to avoid pressure while surveying the field, and when no receiver was open, he scrambled behind left guard Joel Bitonio and toward the Los Angeles sideline.
On his way out of bounds, Mayfield stepped on the orange first-down field marker and lost his balance. Mayfield tumbled into the Los Angeles sideline and remained down for several seconds before being helped up to his feet and hobbling back to the huddle.
“I do not think it impacted him to where he could not play,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said. “Obviously, it is an ankle. He fought through it and played.
“There were some things that I am sure he would like to do better. I am sure there are some balls that he would like to have back. Just as a unit -- it is not just Baker, it is the whole unit -- we did not play very well.”
Despite the ankle injury and a relentless pass rush that resulted in five sacks for the Chargers, Mayfield played the entire game and completed 22 of his 46 attempts for 238 yards and one touchdown, a late fourth-quarter throw to tight end David Njoku, against two interceptions.
Also, Mayfield rushed for eight yards on two carries.
“That is just how it works,” Mayfield said. “You are not always going to have a perfect day. You are not always going to have the day that you envision.
“It just comes down to when something goes wrong, why did it go wrong? Think about it and fix it on the fly. You have to be a great in-game adjuster at this level. To whatever they are throwing at us, we have to react to it and play well. I will be the first to tell you, I did not do that.”
Although Mayfield struggled in the loss to the Chargers, Jackson expects to see him redouble his efforts in practice this week ahead of next Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Florida.
“We are going to bounce back,” Jackson said. “I am not worried about Baker that way. Baker is going to bounce back and play well next week. We are going to play well next week.”
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