Baker Mayfield did not have the kind of game any quarterback wants in the Browns 13-12 loss to the Buccaneers on Friday night. The starting quarterback struggled without his top four weapons, who all sat out.
Mayfield completed just 10 of his 26 passes, netting 72 yards. He failed to lead the team to a touchdown and did throw one interception, on the last play of the first half. Mayfield missed several throws high and had some of his best throws go in and out of the hands of his receivers.
After the game, a sullen Mayfield took responsibility for the poor offensive showing in his post-game press conference.
“Just not good enough,” Mayfield said of the offensive performance. “It starts with me and goes from there. We’ve just got to be able to make plays. Against a team that’s going to line up and play a lot of Cover-1, it’s a lot of 1-on-1s and we’ve got to be able to make those plays.”
Later on, Mayfield added, “I’m not happy with some of my throws” and “I’m pretty frustrated right now.”
He should be. Tampa Bay’s defense played quite well and Mayfield did not get much help from the line or the reserve weapons, but Baker himself had a poor outing and he knows it.
