The Cleveland Browns have no chance of sneaking into the AFC playoff picture unless they win their game in Week 17.
It is against the Pittsburgh Steelers and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who recently announced this Week 17 game will be his final one at home in Heinz Field.
He has dominated the Browns during his 18-year career so Baker Mayfield has his work cut out for him especially after his four-interception performance against the Packers in Week 16.
Baker Mayfield: “Did I play my best? Absolutely not. Did the guys around me play great? Yeah.”
Said he’s not worried about his confidence.
“I’ll be just fine.” #Browns
— Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) December 30, 2021
Here are three things Mayfield has to prove to himself, his teammates, and Browns fans against the Steelers on Monday night.
3. He Has A Short Memory
Baker Mayfield: “Any time we’re still in contention to make the playoffs, it’s a great opportunity and I’m going to treat it like that.” #Browns
— Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) December 30, 2021
The four-interception performance hurt the Browns in more ways than one.
They were in a very winnable contest with the Packers at Lambeau that likely would have gone in their favor if he hadn’t thrown one or all of those interceptions.
This loss was a morale buster.
Mayfield has to pick himself up from that failure and put it behind him; he has to play well and be the leader of this team.
The Steelers will not have a short memory about Mayfield’s performance against the Packers and will likely be blitzing and rushing him all day long.
He needs to forget about the Packers game and be prepared for the Steelers’ pressure.
There are few certainties in sports, but one is that T.J. Watt will be in Mayfield’s face during the game.
2. He Can Protect The Ball
#Browns coach Kevin Stefanski on Baker Mayfield handling different types of adversity this year: He's been accountable to the team. He's a leader of this team. He's a fighter.
— Scott Petrak ct (@ScottPetrak) December 30, 2021
This goes beyond throwing interceptions which do not help win games.
He needs to stop taking sacks that cost his team valuable field position.
Mayfield has a propensity to make bad decisions when pressured.
They manifest themselves in passes that are intercepted and with sacks that create big yardage losses.
Understandably, sacks will happen, but throwing the ball away is sometimes a viable option.
As a side note, he needs to throw it far away so that it cannot be intercepted; no one wants a replay of Week 1’s dismal ending against the Kansas City Chiefs.
#Browns QB Baker Mayfield said postgame he wanted to throw the ball out of bounds on the Mike Hughes INT. But #Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen got ahold of Mayfield's foot, not allowing him to get the power he wanted behind the throw.
Dirty Dan, folks. #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/npMRX8B6zK
— Devon Clements (@DevclemNFL) September 15, 2021
1. He Can Win
Baker Mayfield has a chance to completely rewrite the narrative if he can lead this team to a division title #Browns #RideWith6.
Via @bakermayfield pic.twitter.com/IIRZsQh2Xo
— Tyler Johnson (@T_johnson_TJ) December 28, 2021
The Browns are 7-8.
Six of their losses are by a point differential of six or fewer.
In many of those games, the Browns had the ball late in the game with an opportunity to tie or win it.
Though it is a team game, the inability to engineer game-winning drives is falling on Mayfield.
He did it several times in 2020, but for whatever reason, injury or something else, that late-game mojo has not been there for Mayfield and the Browns in 2021.
Mayfield needs to prove he can win a game from start to finish or if necessary, pull out a victory in the end with late-game heroics.
His ability to do this will increase confidence and build morale on a team that has been through a lot that has threatened its unity this season.
When all is said and done, the best way to quell the naysayers is by winning.
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