Baker Mayfield was pitted against Odell Beckham Jr. last week in yet another example of unnecessary drama with the Cleveland Browns.
The front office decided to handle the situation by releasing Beckham, who is now on waivers.
Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals was a huge opportunity for Mayfield to prove he was not distracted by the drama.
He did that and more in one of his best performances since entering the NFL.
His great game meant Pro Football Focus gave him a stellar grade.
Baker Mayfield: Highest-graded QB in Week 9 👀 pic.twitter.com/vNqyFANS6e
— PFF (@PFF) November 8, 2021
Before Monday night’s game, Mayfield stands with the highest grade of any quarterback from Week 9.
That is quite the response to the video Beckham’s father posted basically saying how bad Mayfield is at his job.
Efficient And Enough To Win
Mayfield threw the ball 21 times Sunday and finished with 14 completions.
Tough week for the Baker Mayfield sucks crowd 😬😬😬😬
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) November 7, 2021
But he made his throws count and spread the wealth as eight players finished with at least one reception.
Donovan Peoples-Jones had one touchdown and David Njoku had the other of Mayfield’s two on the day.
The way the quarterback spread the ball around shows the type of offense the Browns are trying to run.
One receiver is not going to dominate the day with 10 receptions or more.
Beckham didn’t like that, which is fair, and the offense flowed well in his absence due to the depth of talent.
It may be a stretch to say the Browns are outright better with Beckham off the field.
However, they did not slow down at all against Cincinnati and for unknown reasons, Mayfield does seem to play better without OBJ around.
Getting this high grade is also great news for Mayfield’s bank account as he is looking for a strong finish to the season to land a huge contract extension.
Sunday’s game, even with only 14 completions, proved the talent is still there.
NEXT: Bengals Can End Browns’ Playoff Dreams This Week