There was a healthy amount of sentiment following the Cleveland Browns‘ firing of head coach Hue Jackson that elevating a defensive coordinator to the head coach position would do nothing to accelerate Baker Mayfield‘s growth. Mayfield clearly felt differently, and in two games without Jackson and former offensive coordinator Todd Haley, Mayfield is thriving in the Browns offense. In fact, Mayfield is even waking up feeling dangerous.
Strive to have @bakermayfield-level swag 😎 pic.twitter.com/3ziKiP9c1i
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 12, 2018
Baker Mayfield Thriving After Cleveland Browns Coaching Change
Dangerous is a pretty perfect way to describe the onslaught he brought against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Per Pro Football Reference, Mayfield posted a nearly perfect 151.2 passer rating on the back of completing all but three of his passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns. Dangerous indeed, Baker.
Sunday’s performance for Mayfield is the second such performance since the regime change in Cleveland, and Mayfield is clearly enjoying the new role. In the two games since Jackson’s firing, Mayfield is completing 74 percent of his passes for 513 yards, five touchdowns, one interception, and a 118.5 passer rating. For context, in Mayfield’s six appearances under Jackson, he completed 58 percent of his passes for 10 touchdowns, six interceptions, and an 81.8 passer rating.
There was obviously a question of whether the Browns election to elevate a defensive coach would help the offense improve, but so far it’s working. Sure, there’s an argument to be made that the latest successes came against the 32nd and 27th best passing defenses in the National Football League (Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta). However, during Mayfield’s six appearances with Jackson at the helm, the Browns only faced one defense inside the top 15 in passing (Baltimore Ravens). Either way, performing at a high level against the bottom tier of NFL defenses is exactly what good NFL quarterbacks are supposed to do. Mayfield has possibly even played well enough to earn a “doesn’t suck” evaluation from Jalen Ramsey.
It’s not just Mayfield, either. In fact, the entire offense is clicking better than it was under Jackson. This, in part, is due to Nick Chubb finding a place in this offense since the trade of Carlos Hyde. Under Jackson and Haley, Chubb never saw more than 18 rushes and was held to just one reception on the season. Since Williams’ takeover as the interim head coach, Chubb has gotten over 20 carries in both games, for a total of 261 yards on 5.9 yards per carry, as well as four receptions and a receiving touchdown.
Chubb isn’t the only member of the backfield finding himself being increasingly utilized for Gregg Williams‘ Browns. Duke Johnson saw at most four receptions in the eight games he played for Jackson this season. In the two games since, Johnson has had 15 receptions for 109 yards and three touchdowns. It may come as a surprise, but with a defensive mind at the helm, the Browns offense has seen unilateral improvement.
There’s no reason to think the Browns offensive assault should slow down anytime soon. In the next three weeks, the Browns will take on the Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, and Carolina Panthers, who rank 30th, 14th, and 19th in passing defense this season. It’s also interesting to note the Browns still have three divisional games on the schedule, as they’ll meet Cincinnati twice leading to a week 17 tilt in Baltimore.
It’s unlikely the Browns will make a push to the playoffs, but Williams and Mayfield won’t see a defense inside the top 10 in passing until that end of season matchup with the rival Ravens. These games will be meaningful whether they’re for playoff position or not because it will give Mayfield the opportunity to continue to grow and establish a platform to really take the next step in his second season.
There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic in Cleveland. In fact, Williams in two weeks has won as many games in Cleveland as Jackson won in two years. The Browns will almost definitely miss the playoffs, but the emergence of Johnson as a versatile pass catcher out of the backfield, and Chubb as a true NFL every-down back on top of Mayfield’s emerging swagger, it finally feels like the Browns are building something.
Let’s go one further. The Cleveland Browns have finally found their quarterback.
