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January 21, 2021Browns Postseason Awards
January 22, 2021The Cleveland Browns lost in the Divisional Round of the playoffs to the Kansas City Chiefs. It ended a historic and great season for the franchise. The loss was a crusher in terms of how they lost and who best them late in the game. But, in the loss, the Browns saw another great sign for their future. Quarterback Baker Mayfield played extremely well in the loss. He was one of the biggest parts of why the team was able to stay in it till the end. He ended the game 23 of 37 for 204 yards, one interception, and one touchdown. Those don’t look out of the ordinary, but they definitely do not tell the story. Of his 14 incompletions, only one was really bad and that one was the interception early in the second half. Ten of the 14 incompletions were due to pressure, drops, a great play by a defender, or no one being open. The three other incompletions were passes off target, but I believe could be blamed more on miscommunication between Mayfield and the receiver than inaccuracy. Mayfield was on target for pretty much the entire game.
In today’s Cleveland Browns film room, I will take a look at Mayfield’s best five throws of the game. Roll the tape!
5. Q2 1:48 2nd-and-10: Mayfield to Higgins for 23 yards
This is a deep out route by receiver Rashard Higgins. Mayfield knows he is going with this route from the snap when he sees man coverage on Higgins. He takes care of the safety right at the start by eyeing down the middle of the field. This causes the safety to move inside a few steps and take him out of the play. Higgins runs a very good route and Mayfield pairs it with a perfect pass in stride to the outside where only the receiver can get it. It was perfect placement by Mayfield, allowing Higgins to turn upfield to gain even more yards.
4. Q3 9:34 1st-and-Goal: Mayfield to Landry for four-yard TD
This is such great timing and accuracy by Mayfield. Landry is running a quick out route at the goal line. Landry runs a perfect route that allows the receiver to get really good separation from his man. Mayfield does not disclose his intentions of throwing to Landry, keeping his head looking towards the middle of the field. But, Mayfield’s timing and accuracy are what make it work perfectly. Mayfield releases the pass as soon as Landry breaks two steps outside. The quarterback then fires the pass right in stride to the receiver. The timing allows Landry to catch and then focus to get his feet in bounds.
3. Q2 2:04 2nd-and-20: Mayfield to Njoku for 26 yards
I like this one by Mayfield. He was able to go through his progressions to complete this pass. The initial read was Higgins on the deep in route on the left side of the field, but he sees the safety drop down to go under the route, making the route a bit longer to get open. So, Mayfield moves his eyes to tight end David Njoku running a streak route down the numbers on the right side of the field. Mayfield’s attention to Higgins at the snap keeps the deep safety over top to stay deep on bite down on Njoku’s route. This creates an open zone in the coverage. Mayfield fires the pass in the perfect spot between defenders. He wants to throw it away from the outside defender, who is in coverage versus the outside receiver, so he leads Njoku inside a bit. He then has Njoku sit right between the underneath defender and the deep safety, fitting the pass right between the two defenders before either of them could close on the ball. It was a perfectly placed pass.
2. Q2 11:49 2nd-and-14: Mayfield to Peoples-Jones for 23 yards
This is a great quick read by Mayfield. He sees single coverage on receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones on the left side of the field with no help over top. Mayfield turns his attention as soon as he receives the ball at the snap. The quarterback lets go of a soft lofted pass when he gets to the top of his drop back. The pass falls perfectly over the outside shoulders of Peoples-Jones with the receiver catching it in stride and in time to get his feet in bounds for a completion. It was a beautiful throw.
1. Q4 12:18 4th-and-2: Mayfield to Hooper for five yards
This is the best throw of the day and one of the best throws Mayfield threw all year. It comes in one of the biggest moments of the game. The Browns needed to convert the fourth down and short play in order to continue their drive to score a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Not getting the first might have been a death nail in their chances of coming back. It is clear that tight end Austin Hooper is the main target on the play. The tight end is running a crossing route right beyond the first down line. But, Mayfield knows the pressure will be coming from the left side of the line and it does come almost immediately. Mayfield has to drift to the right, but the pressure is just a few steps away, so the quarterback has to unload the pass. He fires his best pass of the game under immense pressure. Hooper is not really open as he is tightly shadowed by a defender as he runs across the formation. Nevertheless, Mayfield unloads the pass to the outside back shoulder where Hooper can only get it. It is an all or nothing throw. Hooper makes a great leaping catch and brings it in for a huge first down. Mayfield pretty much threw Hooper open. The ball’s location made the completion possible. It was an unbelievable throw and really spectacular catch by Hooper.
Random Thoughts
- Let’s begin with the game. In the end, the Browns made too many mistakes by both players and coaches. It was a rough time to have these things happen in the biggest game of the season versus the best team in the league. But, guess what? Cleveland was still in striking distance to win this game.
- I thought the injury to Patrick Mahomes really threw a wrench in things for both teams. Obviously, we know how it affected the Chiefs. But, the Browns were affected by Chad Henne being in the game in one big way. On the final offensive possession of the game for the Browns, Cleveland was faced with a long 4th-down situation that they ended up punting in, resulting them never getting the ball back. I think the decision by Kevin Stefanski is different if Mahomes was still playing. I don’t think there is anyway Stefanski would have trusted the defense to get a stop versus Mahomes. But, Henne gave Stefanski a false sense of hope that the defense could do it.
- I still cannot believe Chad freakin’ Henne was the one who put the final nail in Cleveland’s coffin. That summed up the Browns defense for the season. They got beat by Chad Henne.
- Defense, defense, defense. This offseason will be all about the defense. Cleveland needs to address the entire defense from top to bottom. The Browns need to use every avenue to complete flip and rework this unit. Joe Woods needs a suitable roster to be able to run the system he wants to run.
- What a season! Cleveland came in with so many questions in the midst of a pandemic. But, they leave the season with so many answers and so much hope. The Browns have their franchise quarterback, head coach, front office, and culture to sustain winning. What a remarkable turnaround.
- Mayfield showed more than enough to me that he is the guy. He improved each week and by the end of the season, he was the leader of the offense and the driving force of their success. Now he gets a full offseason with the same system and coaches. That will be huge for him to sustain and improve on his success. I am so excited to see where he is at the start of training camp next season.
- Thanks for reading and joining me in the film room every week throughout this awesome season. Stick around this offseason for more film rooms and pieces as we enter free agency and the NFL Draft.