Cleveland Browns: 3 things we learned from Baker Mayfield’s debut
What did we learn from Baker Mayfield’s regular-season debut with the Cleveland Browns? He helped lead his team to their first win in 635 days.
The Cleveland Browns had not won a game in 635 days until Thursday Night’s thriller against the New York Jets.
It took Baker Mayfield less than three full quarters of work to galvanize the organization and lead the team to its first victory in nearly two full years.
Mayfield, the number one overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft entered this game as Tyrod Taylor’s backup, waiting for his opportunity which many thought might not come until midway through the season or later the way the Browns had talked up Taylor this offseason.
With a record of 0-1-1 that could just as easily be 2-0, the Browns were looking for someone to come in and be a difference maker, and Mayfield was exactly what they needed. There’s something to be said for the energy a player like Mayfield brings to the rest of the team and the jolt he gave to the Cleveland fan base.
I have witnessed a number of sports in Cleveland in this kind of atmosphere with this level of expectation from afar.
In 2016, LeBron James (who was watching Baker on Thursday night) fittingly ended Cleveland’s long championship drought with a stunning NBA Finals performance.
James’ performance in the finals was followed up by a phenomenal season from the Cleveland Indians, who ultimately blew a 3-1 lead to the Chicago Cubs. Though circumstances were very different and the Indians were looking to end a drought much longer than 635 days, the atmosphere in Cleveland on Thursday night — even from afar — felt oddly similar to game seven of the 2016 World Series.
An entire fan base rallied around the Browns in what might seem like a meaningless game to many other groups of fans but was the mark of a new era for Clevelanders.
That stadium was filled with expectation unlike any Browns game in recent memory. When Baker Mayfield took the field, the culture of the team completely shifted. This team now belongs to number six.
Here are three things we learned from Mayfield’s first major NFL action.