A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE OF BAKER, BROWNS
By STEVE KING
Rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield was brilliant – near-perfect, really—and so were the Browns in their convincing, even dominating 28-16 upset victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at FirstEnergy.
Imagine that.
Advertisement: Make Cleveland Football Great Again
As you well know – and as I well know, too, since I’ve told you more times than I can count — it’s not hard to figure out, for as the quarterback goes, so goes the rest of the team. Also, when you have a good quarterback, you have a chance, and when you don’t, you don’t. It no more complicated than that. And the Browns finally have themselves a good quarterback.
That was proven again on Sunday as the Browns, who went into the game with a four-game losing streak, the fact they had given up 33 or more points in three of their previous four contests, and a 2-6-1 record – they needed binoculars to see the AFC wild-card playoff race – laid a good old-fashioned whippin’ on the Falcons, who had won three in a row, scoring 34 or more points in two of those victories, to increase their record to 4-4 and creep back into the NFC playoff chase.
Much of that streak by the Falcons was fueled by Matt Ryan, one of the best quarterbacks in the game. But while he had some good numbers on Sunday, he didn’t make plays when he really had to, which is the second-biggest job of a quarterback next to winning. And that was because of a Browns defense, which, though still banged in the back seven, was superb, rattling him and battering him all day.
Mayfield, on the other hand, had his best full game, by far, and his biggest win, by far, making plays almost every time he was in position to make them. The Atlanta defense had no answer for him. In essence, he looked like Ryan usually looks.
And Mayfield continues to say the right things, too.
Asked by the FOX sideline reporter following the game for the biggest focus he was taking out of the game, Mayfield said immediately and in matter-of-fact fashion, “That we won.”
Keep in mind, though, that this is just Mayfield’s eighth NFL game. So he will still have some ups and downs. But we all got to see a glimpse of the future with what he is capable of, and what the Browns are capable of.
Here is something else to keep in mind as the Browns, with two more wins through 10 games this year than they had in the previous 32 games, as they head into their bye week: the FOX studio crew of analysts all waxed poetic about the Browns following the game.
“I told you before the game not to sleep on the Browns,” Pro Football Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw said.
“The Browns have a real good football man in John Dorsey,” Hall of Famer Howie Long said. “We just showed the Chiefs’ highlights from today, and he put together a lot of that roster.
Added Hall of Famer Michael Strahan, “The Browns are going to be good. Their fans just need to be patient.”
So, people, just be patient (as if you haven’t been more than patient enough already for longer than anyone can remember). Sunday’s performance makes it much easier to do.
