Because the Browns failed to show up, in essence, for their game against the Houston Texans last Saturday in the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs, resulting in a tremendously embarrassing 45-14 loss, their fans have to go searching for other storylines that may interest them in the AFC and NFC divisional playoffs this weekend.

There is one that could be at the top of the list, and is that Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield and Detroit Lions senior advisor John Dorsey, the man who, as general manager of the Browns, selected Mayfield at No. 1 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, will be on opposite sides when the teams meet in an NFC game on Sunday afternoon at Ford Field.

If Dorsey had not rejected the franchise’s overall desire to hire Kevin Stefanski as head coach following the 2018 season, opting instead to tab Freddie Kitchens for the job, which, of course, turned out to be an unmitigated disaster, then he might still be in Cleveland, and perhaps Mayfield would be, too. Instead, Dorsey and Kitchens were both fired after the 2019 season, and the Browns then circled back and hired Stefanski, who got Mayfield back on track, at least for a while, as the club made the 2020 playoffs as a wild card.

Dorsey, of course, wants the Lions to win — after all, they’re the ones employing him now — but you can bet that deep down inside, he hopes that Mayfield, who has resurrected his career with the Bucs, enjoys a big day.

In fact, I think a lot of Browns fans would also love to see Mayfield turn in a lights-out performance AND take the Bucs to the NFC Chsmpionship Game the following Sunday against the winner of the other divisional game between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers.

Steve King