Browns coach Freddie Kitchens took some criticism from all angles for keeping starting QB Baker Mayfield in the game on the team’s final drive against the New York Jets on Monday. With Cleveland holding a commanding lead late, Mayfield remained in the game and took an awkward hit on a third down.
ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” crew wondered aloud why Mayfield and several other starters were still in the game. Fans and pundits on social media echoed that sentiment.
Kitchens defended his decision and explained his rationale after the game and then again in a conference call with reporters on Monday.
“No. He’s our quarterback,’’ said Kitchens if he thought about pulling Mayfield for safety purposes. “I wanted to make that last third down. Not to say that (backup) Garrett (Gilbert) couldn’t, but I wanted Baker to do it.’
“We’re going to finish the game,’’ Kitchens reiterated Monday. “That’s what we preach — is finish the game, and that’s what we’re trying to do. We were trying to get a first down.”
He did not like that Mayfield took the hit and said it was a learning experience for the young QB.
“In that situation, you’re either going to hand the ball off and get hit in the backfield three or four yards or you take advantage of what they’re giving you,’’ said Kitchens. “When they cover it, you just protect yourself. I don’t need Baker out there taking unnecessary shots.”
Kitchens is a rookie coach, and it will be interesting to see if he changes his tactics in the face of such scrutiny and near catastrophe.
