CLEVELAND — The next time Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield takes the field for a game, they will count.
Held out of Thursday’s preseason finale against the Detroit Lions at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Mayfield got one half of work against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in the third preseason game last Friday and one series against the Washington football team in the exhibition opener.
Mayfield was held out of the second preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday, August 17 after competing in a pair of joint practices with the Colts at their summer home, Grant Park, in Westfield, Indiana.
Here is a breakdown of Mayfield’s second preseason with the Browns.
What Mayfield did?
Mayfield did not get much work against Washington in the Browns’ preseason opener, but it was a successful night for the first-team offense as a whole and its leader individually.
The Browns won the coin toss, took the ball and Mayfield led a scoring drive on the first possession of the game, as his touchdown pass to Rashard “Hollywood” Higgins gave Cleveland a 7-0 lead over Washington with 12:47 to play in the first quarter.
Facing a first-and-10 from Washington’s 24-yard line, Mayfield took the snap from center JC Tretter and fired a throw down the left hashmarks to Higgins, who broke open between the second and third-level defenders to create the window for the touchdown pass.
Mayfield was five of six for 77 yards with the touchdown pass on the first drive of the game.
Against the Buccaneers, Mayfield completed just 10 of his 26 attempts for 72 yards and an interception on his final throw of the first half while taking one sack for eight lost yards and being flushed out of the pocket on many of his passes.
Overall, Mayfield completed 15 of his 32 attempts (46.9 percent) for 149 yards and one touchdown with one interception during the preseason.
Analysis
Mayfield did what was necessary to get through training camp and the preseason as healthy as possible ahead of the start of the regular season.
While Mayfield had to scramble several times to avoid pressure against the Buccaneers, he was sacked only once for an eight-yard loss. It was the only time Mayfield was sacked during his one half and one series of action in the preseason.
“I think we’ll be able to look at the film and learn from this and be able to use it,” Mayfield said after the 13-12 loss to the Buccaneers last week. “The result wasn’t exactly what we wanted, but we can look at this film and learn from it. Two weeks from now, it’s the real thing.”
What’s next?
The regular season.
After the roster is reduced to the league-mandated 53-man limit by 4 p.m. Saturday, the Browns will have a full week of practice leading up to the regular-season/home opener against the Tennessee Titans at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland on Sunday, September 8.
And the regular season is where Mayfield shined brightest last year.
After taking over the first-team offense in the second quarter of a Week 3 win over the New York Jets, Mayfield completed 310 of his 486 attempts (63.8 percent) for 3,725 yards and an NFL rookie record 27 touchdowns against 14 interceptions during the 2018 season.
Under the direction of first-year Browns coach Freddie Kitchens, the interim offensive coordinator for the second half of the 2018 season, Mayfield completed 180 of his 263 attempts (68.4 percent) for 2,254 yards and 19 touchdowns against eight interceptions.
What are they saying?
Although Mayfield had a limited body of work during the preseason, Kitchens felt the second-year quarterback maximized his opportunities in practice and has made great strides from his standout rookie season.
“Baker is substantially better at reading coverages, deciphering blitzes, fixing the protections and recognizing the blitzes,” Kitchens said following the final practice of the preseason. “I think he is better in a lot of areas.”
Tight end Seth DeValve added, “He’s great. He’s a great leader, not only on the field, but in the locker room. He’s got tremendous poise and confidence…He’s playing confidently, and I think he always will.”