CLEVELAND -- Rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield told media members at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine that if there was one signal-caller in the NFL Draft that could change the Cleveland Browns’ culture, it would be him.
And while Mayfield has started just two NFL regular-season games and played in only three overall, he has engineered more than a dozen scoring drives and led the team to a pair of victories, both of which were come-from-behind efforts.
“Baker is great,” offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler said. “He is making great decisions. He is making plays with his legs and arm. He can do it all right now. If he keeps getting better, it is going to be scary to see what he can do.”
In just his second NFL start, Mayfield overcame an early interception to complete 25 of his 43 attempts for 342 yards with one touchdown and the turnover on the way to an 81.7 quarterback rating in a 12-9 win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Browns’ first win within the AFC North Division since October of 2015.
Late in the overtime, the Ravens brought a heavy rush, but Mayfield withstood the pressure and found wide receiver Derrick Willies over the middle for a completion. Willies utilized his speed to break free from Baltimore’s defense and gain 39 yards to extend the game-winning drive.
“I was encouraged,” offensive coordinator Todd Haley said. “Everything was not as perfect. There are areas he has to continue to improve, but he can make plays. Even with a lot of the negativity that was going on at different times for different reasons, I never felt like we did not have a chance to make a play. His attitude is tremendous.
“He is into the game on the sideline in-between and during timeouts. Whatever it is, there is never a time where you are looking into his eye and feeling like we have a chance. Those are all positives. For us, as a group, we have to eliminate the minus plays, and a lot of those come through mental errors. We just have to be smarter.”
By leading the Browns to two victories in three outings, Mayfield has instilled quite the confidence in his teammates, and they are very much looking forward to building on their previous successes, starting with Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers at FirstEnergy Stadium.
“It is big,” Zeitler said. “It proves that we can come down to the wire. We were able to get some things done. It was not always pretty, but we finally got it done. That really just says, ‘Hey, keep it going. Listen to the coaches. Let’s try to get better every day, and hopefully, it keeps going.’”
Wide receiver Rashard Higgins added, “Baker, he’s a playmaker, man. He just knows how to win. Some got it. Some don’t. For Baker to come in like he has and to get us where we’re at right now is unbelievable. Hat’s off to him. He’s the quarterback of the future.”
Cornerback Denzel Ward is confident that with Mayfield at the helm of the offense, the 2018 rookie class will go a long way toward turning around the culture of the Browns, and very much embraces the opportunity to be at the forefront of that conversion.
“They changed this organization around, bringing new guys in, bringing guys like Baker in, who’s obviously, a great quarterback like everybody’s seen, so we definitely plan on changing the program around and winning games,” Ward said.
“We definitely want to place that challenge on our hands, and that’s what we plan on doing.”
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