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MINNEAPOLIS – On a day when Baker Mayfield couldn’t beat Odell Beckham Jr. or almost anyone else, his defense and running game took him to a big 14-7 victory over the Vikings to move on to 3-1
It was one of those days you’d expect Mayfield to hit his beat and make big plays against the 27th-ranked pass defense, but it never happened.
He finished the game 15 of 33 (45%) for 155 yards without touchdowns and without interceptions for a score of 59.5.
“This poor performance on my part is not going to cut him off,” Mayfield said. “I have to be better. It’s as simple as that.”
Kevin Stefanski, who won his home game, took the heat for his QB.
“I struggled,” Stefanski said. “That would be the answer. “
Mayfield pulled off most of his passes, knocking down Beckham multiple times and knocking him down on a crucial late-in-game pitch. In back-to-back fourth-quarter games, Mayfield knocked down Beckham and Anthony Schwartz to win three and come out while clinging to their 14-7 advantage.
Earlier in the fourth quarter, he knocked down tight end Harrison Bryant and also took a sack on a key third play as he had Demetric Felton wide open at sticks.
“I pride myself on being extremely specific,” Mayfield said. “And today, I don’t know what it was.”
Stefanski said: “I have to do a better job opening the receivers,” but the guys were very open and Mayfield was just plain wild.
It was an unusual performance for Mayfield, who has been deadly accurate most of the season.
He targeted Beckham seven times to equalize for the top of the team, but only touched him twice for 27 yards. So much for the offensive chemistry coordinator Alex Van Pelt saw last week. It was one of those rare 20-yard games for Beckham that only started happening after being traded to the Browns. Mayfield has targeted tight end Austin Hooper five times and only found him once from 11 yards.
In four games, Mayfield has just two touchdown passes to go with his two interceptions, not even close to what you expected with his charged attack, choose your poison.
But his defense was huge, including a late-game interception by Kirk Cousins’ Greedy Williams, who had eight touchdowns and no picks, and hadn’t thrown any in 226 attempts. It was Williams’ first career interception, and it was his first start since his rookie season in 2019 in place of Greg Newsome II, who was absent with a calf injury.
The Browns had great pressure on Cousins all afternoon after he walked down and threw a TD pass to Justin Jefferson in his first practice, dropping 6 for 6 in the process. After that surge, Cousins only completed 20 of 38 while the Vikings fell to 1-3.
Nick Chubb rushed for 100 yards and Kareem Hunt 69 to carry the offense.
Rookie OL James Hudson replaces a frustrated Jedrick Wills Jr.
Browns Jedrick Wills Jr. came off the field in the third quarter with his ankle injury and threw his helmet on the grass in frustration. He was replaced by rookie James Hudson and carried to the locker room.
Hudson made a costly false start in 4th and 1st place that forced the Browns to kick instead of forcing.
Wills himself had committed a false start and detention.
Mayfield misses open Demetric Felton and knocks down Harrison Bryant
Mayfield came out in the second half and quickly missed a wide-open Demetric Felton on the straight sideline on a 3rd and 3rd game. Instead, Mayfield was sacked for a one yard loss by Danielle Hunter to kill the momentum the Browns had at the end of the first half, when they scored 11 points in the 1:16 final, over Kareem Hunt’s 1-yard TD and Chase McLaughlin’s 48-. yard field goal with two seconds left.
In the fourth quarter, he knocked down an open Harrison Bryant on a corner road for another
Mayfield’s assists sailed in the first half
Mayfield sometimes navigates his passes, and the first half of Sunday’s game was one of those moments. At halftime, he completed just 11 of 22 attempts for 98 yards, scoring 62.3.
Mayfield put too much heat on a pass to Kareem Hunt in the end zone that slipped through his fingertips and knocked down Beckham from the right side of the end zone in the second quarter. Later in the quarter, he missed Beckham again in the end zone on an assist that Patrick Peterson could have recovered.
Mayfield sacked again in 4th place
The Browns started the game the same way they won their 26-6 victory over the Bears last week: with a Mayfield sack in 4th place. The sack, by Everson Griffen, ruined a 15-game march against the Vikings’ 6.
Mayfield was also sacked 4th on each of his first two shots in the 26-6 win over the Bears last week.
It looked like it might have the potential to happen a second time on Sunday, but the Vikings engaged a defensive stance on 4th and 2 in their 2 to give the Browns a 1st and a goal in 1. After a failure and a Kareem Hunt stopping for no gain, Hunt eventually ran him behind Andy Janovich for a 1 yard TD with 1:16 left in the half.
Sheldon Richardson then did the Browns a favor by trying to call a fourth timeout before the extra point, and was flagged for game delay. This allowed the Browns to go for two, and Mayfield found Janovich wide open on the right side.
Sacks are a concern this season, especially with Jedrick Wills Jr. emptying him on a sprained ankle, but 4th sacks are especially glaring.
Ronnie Harrison leaves the game with a concussion to push Grant Delpit to more serve
The Browns lost Ronnie Harrison Jr. to a concussion in the second quarter, which hampered their ability to execute their three-cent safety package with John Johnson III, Harrison and Grant Delpit. It also meant an accelerated increased role for Delpit, who has performed well in his first three games of the season.
Delpit had a nice breakup with Adam Thielen in the third quarter, but it was canceled out by a brutal passer call against Malik McDowell.
Vikings start hot
The Vikings converted two third downs and a fourth on their first down to take a 7-0 lead with 7:26 left in the first quarter on a 12-yard pass from Cousins to Justin Jefferson who capped a 14 -game, 75 -training court. Cousins went 6 for 6 on the march, then the Vikings stalled as the Browns’ defense gained the upper hand and dominated.
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