Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield faced the music Monday and explained he skipped his postgame news conference on the heels of Sunday's 13-10 win over the Detroit Lions because he was frustrated about his individual performance making his team's path to victory more arduous than it should have been.
"I was frustrated among other things. Yeah, I mean, I've never dodged any questions or hid away from that. So it's not about that," Mayfield said on Zoom. "Just frustrated. Removed the emotions and all that from it. Just decided it was best to wait.
"Not one part of that is not being accountable. I'd be the first to tell you I played like s***. So it's not about accountable, and I don't owe you guys [in the media] any of that. I owe that to my teammates, and I talked to them, so that's what matters."
Mayfield is playing through a sore left heel, a bruised right knee and an injured left, non-throwing shoulder. He conceded a combination of the injuries and the cold, rainy weather Sunday on Cleveland's lakefront contributed to his wildly inconsistent ball placement.
Mayfield finished 15-of-29 passing (51.7%) against the winless Lions for 176 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions for a rating of 53.2.
"For me, decision-making was great," Mayfield said. "It was the lack of execution. I think there were some plays, I'm not going to make every throw, nobody does that, but very, very frustrated with where I was going with the ball compared to how the results were. That's very, very frustrating.
"I've always been an accurate guy, and that was not the case yesterday. That's extremely frustrating to me when I feel like I let my teammates down. Preparation week everything leading up to the game was great. I felt like I was in a good position to be able to play and play at a high level and I didn't. So that's a very frustrating thing."
Mayfield did not second-guess finishing the game despite the fact he began limping late in the third quarter, and he said he expects to play Sunday night when the Browns (6-5) visit the AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens (7-4).
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said he didn't consider removing Mayfield from the game versus the Lions (0-9-1) and turning to backup quarterback Case Keenum.
Stefanski also said if Mayfield is physically ready to go, he'll start against the Ravens.
Browns at Ravens
Time: 8:20 p.m. Sunday
TV: NBC
