Baker Mayfield won’t hurt for motivation this week.
Not only did he lose three fumbles that led to 17 points Sunday in the Buccaneers’ 33-27 loss to the Bengals, he’s facing the Browns. They drafted him No. 1 in 2018, then chose Deshaun Watson over him after the 2021 season and traded him to Carolina.
Todd Monken sticking with Deshaun Watson for Week 2 vs. Buccaneers
Browns coach Todd Monken knows how Mayfield ticks after serving as Cleveland’s offensive coordinator in 2019.
“He’s a great football player and highly competitive, and it’s irrespective of playing the Browns,” Monken said Monday. “He’s very prideful, he wants to play good football.
“And I’m super happy for him and his new contract, he certainly deserved it. He’s played his rear end off down there, and there’s very few people I’ve been around that like football more than Baker Mayfield, and that’s a fact. So whether it’s us or another team, he was not going to be happy with the way he played and he’s going to be ready to go.”
Mayfield signed a three-year, $165 million contract extension last week. He went 23-for-28 for 216 yards against the Bengals, took four sacks and ran for 30 yards, including a touchdown.
“This one falls on me,” Mayfield said. “They had 17 points alone off my turnovers. Turns out to be a one-score game, six points.”
Analysis: Clock has just about run out on Deshaun Watson’s time as starter
He was already asked about the matchup with the Browns.
“Obviously, there’s history there,” Mayfield said. “There’s no way to go around that. But it’s still the next one. That’s the most important one. I’ve got to get some stuff fixed. We got to move forward.”
The Browns defense will also look to rebound after a 34-10 loss to the Jaguars in which Trevor Lawrence completed 18 of 23 passes for 245 yards, four touchdowns and a 150.6 passer rating.
FIGHTING WORDS
Longtime Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has moved to broadcasting and was asked about the Browns’ lopsided loss on NBC’s pregame show.
“In the words of my friend JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Browns are the Browns,” Tomlin said.
Defense can’t stop Trevor Lawrence and Jaguars in opening blowout
Monken was asked about the comment.
“Everybody’s afforded their opinions,” he said. “That’s what you do when you go from coaching to television, and we have to own that. We didn’t play very well.
“I don’t see it that way, Browns being Browns. Every week is different. Every team is different. We just didn’t play well. That’s one week. The only way to change people’s opinion is to play better.”
INJURY REPORT
Running back Dylan Sampson exited in the first half with a knee injury and was ruled out after trying to run on the sideline.
“We’re still evaluating Dylan and we’ll have more information on Wednesday,” Monken said.
Raheim Sanders replaced Sampson as the No. 2 running back and kick returner.
“Definitely hard, because he’s a brother,” Sanders said. “That was a hard one.”
** Left guard Zion Johnson limped off the field with what looked like a serious injury but returned for the next series and finished the game.
“I don’t really have a final update, but we got good information earlier today,” Monken said.
TWILIGHT ZONE
The Browns went with more zone coverage in the first game under defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg and couldn’t stop the Jaguars’ passing game. The Browns were a heavy man-to-man team under previous coordinator Jim Schwartz.
“I don’t call the plays,” safety Ronnie Hickman said when asked the reason for the change. “It just came down to executing those plays that we wanted back as a defense.”
While he didn’t blame the change, he acknowledged the significance.
“There’s definitely a little bit of acclimating to it,” Hickman said.
GOOD START
The Browns started rookies Spencer Fano at left tackle and Austin Barber at right guard.
“I’m jacked,” Monken said when asked how they played. “Those two guys are going to be really good players.”
