CLEVELAND -- The Baker Mayfield era has (almost) arrived for the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns are expected to name Mayfield their starting quarterback on Monday, according to a report from Cleveland.com Sunday afternoon.
Chosen with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Mayfield engineered four scoring drives and led the Browns to a 21-17 come-from-behind victory over the New York Jets at FirstEnergy Stadium Thursday night, and will make his first-ever regular-season start against the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum next Sunday.
“It was as good as I thought live,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said of Mayfield’s performance in the win over the Jets. “He made some tremendous throws. Obviously, he was able to move the team. Played with some rhythm. Got the ball into the playmakers hands and gave them chances to make plays.
“There are some things that he has to clean up, obviously. We can’t have the ball out on the ground. There are some progression things that we will work through. Overall, for his first game out under the lights in that environment, in that situation, he handled all of that extremely well and played well.”
PHOTOS | Rookie QB Baker Mayfield leads Cleveland Browns to win over New York Jets
Prior to Mayfield entering the game, the Browns’ offense sputtered through the first half, as Tyrod Taylor struggled to find any kind of a rhythm and completed just four of his 14 attempts for 19 yards before a concussion brought his night to a premature end.
With Taylor suffering the concussion in the first half, Mayfield entered the game, completed 17 of his 23 attempts for 201 yards and led the Browns to 21 of the final 24 points scored, all of which combined to give Cleveland the come-from-behind win.
Not one to shy away from the moment, Mayfield came out firing and completed back-to-back throws for a combined 31 yards, and after being stripped of the football on a sack, came back and threw a 16-yard completion to wide receiver Jarvis Landry on the ensuing play.
Mayfield went on to lead three more scoring drives, including two that were punctuated with rushing touchdowns from Carlos Hyde.
With the Browns trailing the Jets by three points, 17-14, and less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Mayfield engineered a 15-play drive that travelled 75 yards.
Despite having a touchdown taken off the scoreboard when Landry was flagged for an illegal block, Mayfield showed confidence in the young veteran receiver when he found him for a 12-yard gain that got back all of the penalty yardage and then some.
Then, Hyde rushed for the go-ahead touchdown.
“He is special,” Landry said. “He is really special. Last week, I had a chance to sit down with him after the compliment form (Saints quarterback) Drew Brees. He did not get a big head or anything.
“He took advantage of the moment and the opportunity. We always have seen him make these plays. As far back as when the Baker Mayfield story started, he has always made these types of plays. It is awesome to be a part of it.”
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