Breaking Down Baker Mayfield and the Browns Offense
The second go-round of the Battle of Ohio takes place at Paul Brown Stadium Sunday. The Browns enter the matchup with a 4-2 record, while the Bengals sit at 1-4-1.
Cleveland beat Cincinnati 35-30 in Week 2. Despite the close score, the Browns were in control for most of the game.
Nick Chubb ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns, while Kareem Hunt added 86 yards on the ground and a score. Baker Mayfield finished 16-of-23 for 219 yards and two touchdowns. Everything seemed to go right for him and the Browns offense that night.
Cleveland has looked good in each of their four wins this season, but they've only beaten one team above .500 in the Indianapolis Colts. Their other three wins came against Cincinnati, Washington and Dallas.
On the other hand, the Browns have looked really bad in their two blowout losses. Both came against divisional foes Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
A key to the Browns’ early season achievements have been their number one ranked rushing offense led by Chubb and Hunt. They have put up 1,017 yards on the ground for an average of 5.2 per attempt and 169.5 yards per game.
The running game has been a blessing for Cleveland. It's allowed them to succeed despite Mayfield's struggles.
He's arguably having the worst season of his three-year career. Through six games, Mayfield is 103-of-170 for 1095 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Cleveland has put talented pieces around Mayfield. They traded for Odell Beckham Jr. and signed Hunt to go along with Jarvis Landry and Chubb. They also added two tight ends—Austin Hooper and Harrison Bryant—this offseason.
Cleveland also fixed an offensive line that gave up 40 sacks and 129 pressures to Mayfield last season. The team signed right tackle Jack Conklin and used their first round pick on left tackle Jedrick Wills.
With the additions and improvement of play from the offensive line, Mayfield ranks first in time-to-throw with 3.2 seconds, per Next Gen Stats. He has only been sacked 11 times this season, four of which came last week against Pittsburgh.
Mayfield has the pieces around him, but his accuracy is what is holding him back from taking this Browns team to the next level. Nearly 71% of his throws have been on target, while 22.2% of his passes have been considered poor according to Pro Football Reference.
Interceptions have been a problem for Mayfield in his short career. He has six this season and ten turnover worthy plays according to Pro Football Focus.
Last week’s contest against the Steelers tallied his eleventh career multiple interception game, which ultimately led to backup quarterback Case Keenum replacing him in the fourth quarter.
Mayfield’s struggles loom from a weakness in dissecting defenses pre and post snap.
Cincinnati’s defense will need to approach Sunday’s game much like their Week 5 matchup against the Ravens—stopping the run and force Mayfield to throw.
The secondary will be without one of their reliable contributors in William Jackson III. Jackson had an interception off of Mayfield in their first matchup. He suffered a concussion last week against the Colts.
Fortunately for the Bengals, Chubb will not be on the field this time around. He's on injured reserve with a right knee injury. Expect Hunt to be heavily involved in the Browns’ game plan with Chubb out.
If the defense can stop Hunt, this game could come down to who wins the turnover battle. Cleveland’s turnover ratio in both of their losses this season is -4, but the Browns are +4 on the season.
Cincinnati will need a bounce back performance from last week to pick up their second win of the season.
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