CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Baker Mayfield has a chance to go from ‘I failed this team’ against the Jets to snapping the Browns’ 17-year playoff drought Sunday against the Steelers, and he’s already getting his snarl on.
“I’ve had my back against the wall many times in my life,’' he said. “I think I handle that type of stuff correctly. Just one at a time until Sunday. I can’t win it right now. Have to move on from the game and work to get there.”
Mayfield pinned the costly 23-16 loss to the Jets on himself after he fumbled three times, including on the fourth-and-1 sneak with 1:18 left with a chance to win the game. He blamed himself in his postgame press conference for letting the team down, and then abruptly walked away after answering only one question.
But as everyone knows, a mad Baker is often the best Baker, and if history repeats itself, he’ll channel his anger at himself into a great performance against the Steelers.
“I was thinking I was probably going to use it as a disadvantage and maybe drop the ball four more times,’' Mayfield said sarcastically.
He was asked on his Zoom conference Wednesday what caused him to stalk out of his press conference the most. It was undoubtedly a harrowing 24 hours, in which he lost his top four receivers to the COVID-19 list. He was also without left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. (illness) and right guard Wyatt Teller (ankle).
“It was completely my performance,’' he said. “I thought I addressed that after the game. I thought I was pretty straightforward about it. I said there was no excuse when it came to the COVID stuff. We had exactly what we needed to win. I addressed it then, and I said I let the team down. That’s that. I’m not going to change that now.”
So how does he bounce back from a loss like that?
“Go to bed Sunday night, wake up Monday morning and get back to work,’' he said.
Mayfield acknowledged that he’s built for the type of pressure that faces him on Sunday. The Browns will clinch a playoff spot with a victory, and if they lose, they’d have to hope the Colts lose to the Jaguars or one other multi-team scenario to get in. The Steelers are resting Ben Roethlisberger and starting Mason Rudolph, but will play “the vast majority’' of their starters, Mike Tomlin said.
“These are the moments you ask for,’' Mayfield said. “When you’re little, you dream of playing in the games where it comes down to you have the ball in your hands and you want to take care of business and it comes down to the moments where you have to win.’'
Nick Chubb saw the Mayfield he knows today, despite the fact practice was delayed, moved inside and shortened because of two more members of the organization testing positive for COVID-19: practice squad center Jarvis Patterson and an unidentified coach. The Browns were also still without receivers Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones and KhaDarel Hodge.
“He was locked in,’' Chubb said. “He was focused. He wasn’t saying much. He was going out there, practicing hard and leading us. That is about it.”
Center JC Tretter saw it too.
“Baker is good. Baker is dialed in,’' he said. “Baker is ready to go. Had a great, great group of meetings, talked through all of our looks and our checks, and we had a good little shorter practice but a really crisp practice. I think Baker is ready to go.”
Mayfield acknowledged that the Browns aren’t planning for the Steelers’ junior varsity and aren’t taking them lightly. In the first meeting, the 38-7 loss, the Steelers picked him off twice, including a 33-yard pick-six by Minkah Fitzpatrick on the Browns opening drive, and sacked him four times. He completed only 10-of-18 attempts for 119 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions for a 54.9 rating. He was also playing through a rib injury that game.
“We have to prepare just as we would any normal game because this is win or go home,’' Mayfield said. “However they want to handle it, that’s their choice. We’re not controlling that. We have to control ourselves and how we prepare. They’re still going to have the same scheme. It’s not like they are going to change that up. We have to be able to go in and execute.”
Mayfield, who’s drastically cut down on his interceptions the second half of the season, knows he can’t turn the ball over. In his first seven games of the season, he was picked off seven times, and in the last eight games, he’s thrown one. But the fumbles, including another one on a fourth-and-1 sneak against the Titans, have to stop.
“It starts with me taking care of the ball,’' he said. “You look at the first third down of the game and the pick-six, that’s not a great start for us and then just a bad light scramble-drill throw interception. We have to establish the run game. I have to take care of the ball. Just overall, there are so many things that when we watch that game we could have done better, but you do not want to dwell on that. It comes down to the fundamentals of what our identity is.”
There are plenty of differences between the first meeting and this one. The Browns didn’t have Nick Chubb, Wyatt Teller or Ronnie Harrison that game, and all are expected to play Sunday. The Steelers have also lost linebacker Devin Bush and fearsome edge-rusher Bud Dupree since that game. The Browns had Odell Beckham Jr. back then, but have grown in the play-action based scheme since then.
“We’re a much different team just based on scheme and the things that we’ve learned about ourselves as the season has gone on,’' Mayfield said. “You want to continue to improve, and we’ve done that gradually as the season has gone on. We have to play our best ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. That’s all that matters.”
Mayfield knows he’ll have to account for edge-rusher T.J. Watt on every snap if he plays. Watt leads the NFL with 15 sacks and is a leading candidate for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
“T.J. is a great player,’' he said. “He’s one of those guys you have to know where he is at on the field at all times. They do a good job moving him around and putting him in spots to create plays because you see teams try and bring extra guys over there to help block. He’s a smart football player first. He recognizes a lot, but his talent just comes up with that. You definitely have to notice where he is at all times.”
On Thursday, Mayfield expects to have Landry, Higgins, Peoples-Jones and Hodge back on the practice field, and he’ll set about bringing home the playoff berth they’ve worked all season for.
“Obviously, winning is a hell of a lot more fun than the situations I have been in in the past,’' he said. “Instead of having vacation scheduled, we’re focused on taking care of business this week and seeing what happens after that. It’s one day at a time right now. That’s a good thing. That’s a really good thing for us. Everybody here has worked so hard for these moments right here and for these games to truly matter so we just have to seize the moment.”
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New Browns face masks for sale: Here’s where you can buy Cleveland Browns-themed face coverings for coronavirus protection for adults and youth, including a single mask ($14.99) and a 3-pack ($24.99). All NFL proceeds donated to CDC Foundation.
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