The 2021 season has been a rollercoaster for Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns. Finally, on Saturday afternoon, the bottom fell out for the playoff hopefuls, due to the horrendous play of their staring quarterback.
Mayfield threw four interceptions in the Browns’ 24-22 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Christmas. Three of those picks came in the first half and the final giveaway came when Cleveland was driving with a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter.
The performance was by far Mayfield’s worst of the year and gave more ammunition to those in Cleveland that would move on from the former No. 1 overall pick. However, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski still isn’t listening to those that doubt his quarterback.
After the Browns third loss in four games, Stefanski revealed that he didn’t consider benching Mayfield at halftime nor will he make a quarterback change for the rest of the 2021 season.
“He’s our starting quarterback,” Stefanski said of Mayfield, per ESPN’s Jake Trotter.
Mayfield’s struggles led Stefanski to be asked about his quarterback plan going forward https://t.co/VzZgiJrxvf
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 26, 2021
Mayfield was quick to acknowledge his own shortcomings after Saturday’s loss dropped the Browns to 7-8 on the year.
“I hurt this team,” Mayfield said, per Trotter. “That’s the most frustrating thing for me because I thought our defense played tremendous against a really, really good offense. But when you turn the ball over … and give them extra opportunities, they’re gonna take advantage of it. That’s just who they are.”
With only two games remaining, the Browns will be hard-pressed to find their way into the postseason. That means, Cleveland will need to start thinking long and hard about its future at the quarterback position.
Most importantly, Stefanski and his staff will need to figure out if the Browns want to stick with Mayfield going forward or look to go in a different direction in 2022.
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