Baker Mayfield was just off against the Bucs
Baker Mayfield wasn't up to his own or Freddie Kitchens' standards in the Cleveland Browns third preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Neither of them tried to use the fact he was playing with reserves other than Rashard Higgins as an excuse, nor should they. The offensive line didn't play great, but that wasn't the problem either.
Mayfield made a couple of terrific passes, was magnificent in the pocket, but just wasn't as pinpoint as he's capable.
Speaking of Mayfield in the pocket, this led to one of the strangest sideline pieces on the local broadcast with Bernie Kosar and Dustin Fox trying to demonstrate what Mayfield does in the pocket to be so effective, but both almost immediately realized how awkward and futile it was to try to do standing there, but it was live TV and they were already committed to the bit. They could've taped a piece of Kosar going through some tape and showing Mayfield in the pocket, talking about it on a telestrater to drop into the broadcast when it was set up or during half time. Instead, it turned into a very odd pantomime routine that didn't do any of them any favors.
Anyway.
Mayfield didn't struggle. His reads were right and he made good decisions. There's nothing to fix. He likely would've worked through it had he kept playing, but he only got the half.
The results combined with the fact Mayfield lobbied Kitchens to play in the game in the first place make the outcome look worse. He's a good enough passer at this point where even if he's got nothing around him, it's still genuinely surprising that he didn't find his way in the end zone, given how easy it has looked for him at times.
In this particular game, the defense was dominant, didn't give up a point and forced five three and outs in the first half and the offense was still unable to take control of the game. Mayfield's awful stat line of 10 for 26 for 72 yards passing wasn't indicative of how he played, but it also can't be dismissed of being everyone else's fault. No one played particularly well on offense, Mayfield included.
This performance is a blip on the radar if it's even that, but will undoubtedly be used as additional motivation for Mayfield while Kitchens will use it to drive the starters on offense to get ready for the regular season over the next two weeks starting with the Tennessee Titans. Nothing about this game is a reason to hit the panic button. It simply shows that the Mayfield and the Browns may not have to be perfect to win games as they have in years past, but they can't play terribly and still expect to win.
This is Pete Smith for Browns Maven.
