Baker Mayfield and John Elway – Only two guys

By Steve King

So, what else is it about Baker Mayfield that makes me think he will rebound – and then some – next season and clearly prove his worth as the Browns franchise quarterback?

It’s because of something I’ve mentioned here before, and will do so again. Why? Because it matters, and because I had seen it happen only once before.

Mayfield beat Ohio State at Columbus almost by himself in 2017. The Buckeyes had all these great defensive backs – guys who were highly-rated and highly-recruited and were on their way to playing in the NFL – and yet they couldn’t stop him.

But it’s not that they played poorly, not at all, in fact. Actually, they played very well – their coverage was right there; they were exactly where they needed to be – but Mayfield was just better.

His throws were not just right on target. Saying that doesn’t do him – or what he did that night – justice. Instead, they were right smack-dab in the middle of the target – perfect, if you will. If Mayfield had been allowed to run upfield and hand his pass-catchers the ball, he couldn’t have done it any better – any more perfectly, if there is such a thing.

It was amazing. It was unbelievable. It was like watching a great artist at work.

I have watched Ohio State football for a long time, back into the beginning of what could be called the modern era in the late 1960s, and I had witnessed that only once before. That is, I had watched just one other quarterback go into Columbus and do that to a Buckeyes secondary.

That guy is named John Elway, and he was with Stanford in 1982. The result was a 23-20 win by the Cardinal.

It’s not fair to say Baker Mayfield and John Elway will end up ultimately with similar careers. This is not to say that Mayfield will be another Elway. That’s not fair to either man.

But it is to say that at least in that realm, he is the only one to do what Elway did, and it puts Mayfield on a different plane.

I saw greatness that day in 2017. It is within him. If he can do it once, then he should be able to do it again and again and …

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