Tim Benz: Steelers face a better Browns team. But how much better is Baker Mayfield? - TribLIVE

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In advance of his team’s game against the Steelers this week, Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield made one thing clear.

“Mama didn’t raise no wuss.”

Fair enough. Even if Mayfield is unable to play through his rib injury Sunday at Heinz Field, I wouldn’t have made that kind of judgment about him.

What I do wonder, though, is if Mama raised a franchise quarterback. One who was truly worthy of being the NFL’s top overall pick in 2018.

I still need some convincing there. With a 12-17 record as a starter after two years, I bet a lot of Browns fans were asking the same question.

But during 2020, the arrow seems to be pointed in the right direction for Mayfield and the 4-1 Browns. During the team’s current four-game win streak, Mayfield is completing 63.7% (72 of 113) of his passes. His touchdown to interception ratio has been 8:3. And he only took five sacks in the four games. In the first three victories of that batch, his passer rating was between 100 and 117.3.

Keep in mind that Mayfield led the AFC with 21 interceptions in 2019. His passer rating was 78.8, and his competition percentage was 59.4.

On Tuesday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was asked what has made Mayfield better when it comes to taking care of the ball and being more efficient in 2020.

“They are running the ball well, and they are not behind in football games,” Tomlin replied succinctly.

That’s it?

I mean, Tomlin is right. The Browns lead the NFL in rushing yards per game (188.4). And they’ve had a double-digit lead at some point in the second half of every game during their winning streak.

But is there anything more about Mayfield himself?

I asked Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler for some additional insight. Is there anything about the offensive scheme under new Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski that has allowed Mayfield to improve in his third season?

“I’ll tell you what I think helps is their running game,” Butler said. “The guys who have been successful in the league are guys who run the football and then run play action off it. Play action is much more effective when you can run the ball. They have been doing a good job of that. Trying to keep him out of third-and-long situations where you have to keep him in the pocket.

“They’ve done a good job controlling the ball.”

Again, all true. Over the last three weeks, the Browns’ average time of possession has been 33:58, third-best in the league for that span. Buffalo’s Josh Allen (631) and Tennessee’s Ryan Tannehill (436) are the only two AFC quarterbacks with more play-action passing yards this year than Mayfield (350).

Certainly, improved offensive line play has helped in the run game and pass protection. Rookie Jedrick Wills Jr. and free-agent signee Jack Conklin have been big upgrades at tackle.

Still, though, that answer from Butler was about the other 10 guys in the huddle as much as it was about Mayfield.

“They just have a well-balanced attack,” Tomlin said of the Browns offense. “They’re possessing the ball. They’re keeping you off-balance. They change the launch point. Baker is doing a good job of administering the offense.”

It’s almost as if Butler and Tomlin are saying, Baker is still Baker. Which could be taken one of two ways.

Either they could be inferring that Mayfield is simply one of the boats rising with the tide of Cleveland’s collectively improving play. Or they are saying that Mayfield has always been good, but the rest of the Browns haven’t been good enough in support for him to show what he could be.

Kenny Roda of 1480 WHBC in Canton joined me for Thursday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast. His Ohio perspective sounds similar.

“They thought they were getting a franchise quarterback,” Roda said. “A Drew Brees, Russell Wilson type of guy that was going to lead the offense and put up enormous numbers. He hasn’t shown that. Even in his rookie year when he set the touchdown record as a rookie. He regressed last year.”

And while Mayfield looks improved in 2020, Roda pointed to Mayfield’s second half vs. Indianapolis last week. He was 2 of 9 for 19 yards, two interceptions, and a 0.0 rating. That said, there were some drops and Mayfield was playing with a rib injury. Plus, the Colts came into the game with the league’s best scoring defense (14.0 points per game after four weeks).

“They’ve taken his strengths and played to them with the running game and they’ve tried to limit his weaknesses,” Roda said.

Hmm. “Mama raised a slightly above average game manager” doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?

Actually, I do think Mayfield is a little better than that. But I don’t think the Browns are better than the Steelers. Yet.

Steelers win 28-27.

Listen: Tim Benz and Kenny Roda (1480 WHBC in Canton) preview the Steelers vs. Browns game, Baker Mayfield’s career arc, and Myles Garrett’s personality

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

Categories: Sports | Steelers/NFL | Breakfast With Benz