Getty Image / Ezra Shaw
Baker Mayfield and his Cleveland Browns got absolutely torched by the 49ers on Monday Night Football, 31-3. The Browns were abysmal while the 49ers flexed their muscle as they sent a message to the rest of the NFL saying their 4-0 record is for real.
The story of the night was just how poor Mayfield was, the play of his offensive line and just the non-existent pulse the Browns’ offense showed throughout the night.
Mayfield was under duress for the majority of the night from San Francisco’s dominant defensive line. Simply put, Cleveland’s offensive line was wildly overmatched. Mayfield was sacked twice, threw two picks and lost one of his two fumbles.
It was bad all around for Cleveland, and while some will point strictly to the offensive line, a few dropped passes or just at Mayfield it’s pretty simple to see it was a mix of all three aspects. Oh, and the defense giving up 31 points doesn’t help the cause either.
But then again, it’s hard to overlook Mayfield’s abysmal stat line Monday night.
He completed just eight of his 22 passes for 100 yards, no touchdowns and, again, two interceptions. This put his passer rating at a whopping 13.4. For those keeping up at home, you are correct, that is a terrible, terrible passer rating.
How bad you ask? Well, Nick Wright pointed out that if a quarterback spikes the ball every play his passer rating would be a 39. So, if Mayfield literally spiked the ball every play his passer rating would have been 3x higher than what it was on Monday night.
"Baker Mayfield was awful again. Baker completed 8 passes, had a passer rating of 13. If you just spike the ball on every play you get a passer rating of 39. … Baker might not be panicking but it is close to panic time in Cleveland." — @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/kMtyt72xms
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) October 8, 2019
The big question for the Browns and their fans now is is it time to panic?
I don’t see how they can’t be in panic mode after the blowout loss. They sit at 2-3 with two of those losses coming by 28 or more points; they lost their opener at home to the Titans 43-13. Mayfield is completing less than 60 percent of his passes and has thrown just four touchdowns compared to eight picks while Cleveland is 25th in the league in scoring, averaging just over 18 points per game.
The biggest reason to panic, other than Mayfield’s current form and him looking like a deer in headlights in the pocket, is Cleveland’s upcoming schedule. The Browns host the Seahawks this Sunday, then have a bye before traveling to New England and Denver the following two weeks.
Can anyone say 2-6? You have to think 3-5 is the best record they’ll have when they leave Denver.