QB Baker Mayfield (11.24.19)
QB Baker Mayfield:
On if the game against the Dolphins meant more to WR Jarvis Landry, given it was against his prior team:
“Yeah, he did a good job suppressing the emotion, keeping it to himself and making it all about the team, but deep down inside, we know how much it meant to him.”
On how the Browns handled distractions and adversity this past week:
“I think the defense came out and played a great game with everything that was talked about them. Offensively, we still had our lulls, our low moments and our non-consistency [and] we wanted to have [consistency]. Overall, a win is a win. It was important for us to come out of here and get back on the field after everything.”
On throwing at least one TD pass to both WR Odell Beckham Jr. and Landry in the same game:
“They were making plays all day. They are there when they need to be there making the plays we are counting on them to make, and they are doing it consistently for us.”
On if the Browns are continuing to improve chemistry and find their rhythm on offense:
“Absolutely, I think we made strides in certain areas offensively today that we needed to make. Definitely can go without the interception, the ball behind him. We improved when we needed to.”
On Landry’s second TD:
“We had a little motion to try to get Odell in the flat and then have Jarvis coming out the other side. Pretty similar to the one last week, it just so happened that they traded it off and passed it off. Odell was covered, got back to Jarvis, gave him a chance and he made the great play.”
On if the Browns identified mismatch opportunities in the Dolphins secondary to exploit prior to the game, given changes in the Dolphins’ personnel this year:
“I would not that say we necessarily ever look at who is playing. It is all about us. If it is one on ones, we expect to win those no matter who we are playing against. That was the mindset for us going into it.”
On the areas the Browns offense needed to improve:
“Making those plays in the red zone. Although, we had the one to (WR Rashard) Higgins, if I give him a better ball and put it back on the back pylon, he gets a touchdown, as well. When we got our chances, we capitalized. We still did not play nearly good enough, but we still scored 40 points.”
On winning at FirstEnergy Stadium again after starting the season with multiple home losses:
“It feels good to know that we have that comfort of coming back home, having that advantage of people need to fear coming to Cleveland. Kind of like I said last year, just getting into that groove, knowing that you are comfortable at home. You have the fans to rely on. You can feel that energy and build the momentum.”
On if playing high-ranked defenses all season has made the Browns offense better:
“I think no matter who we have played, we had to look at the tape and learn lessons. Today, we improved, but like I said, it wasn’t perfect. So we need to keep improving.”
On how he expects the Browns to respond as they travel to Pittsburgh next week:
“Singular focus again. Just going into it with the same mindset. It is one game at a time. We need the next one so this was a good win for us. We will look at the tape, learn from it and move on.”
On if the Browns grew closer after the adversity this week, particularly given the result:
“I think we did. I think we came together as a team. Obviously, as I said earlier, the defense played great. A bunch of guys got some playing time who weren’t normally getting playing time and stepped up and made plays for us. Obviously, (LB) Joe (Schobert) had another great game. They just keep making plays, and that is great for this team overall.”
On if he was surprised that DT Sheldon Richardson stepped up during his transition to DE this week and as a leader of the Browns DL:
“No, that is what we expect from Sheldon. Obviously, we expect our big time guys to play that well. I am still happy because Sheldon, anytime you do your job that well, it is a great game.”
On the TD to Beckham and how it felt to connect with him on another TD:
“It was good. It was a little play-action. It was just a normal progression read. They decided to drop into a zone coverage that Tennessee ran and just robbed it a little bit, and Odell had an angle on a guy and leverage on him. He made a play. Put it up for him, and he made a great play.”
On remaining confident in the Browns’ ability to get things rolling despite an early losing streak:
“It is not about what the adversity is, it is what you do with it, and I have said that. I goes throughout life. It goes throughout this season. It goes for our situation that happened last week. It is what you do with it, how you handle it and how you move forward. I have always said the most important play is the next one, no matter good or bad. This team is doing a good job of that and the singular focus that I keep stressing on. We keep moving forward.”
On the expected atmosphere next week at Pittsburgh:
“Playoff atmosphere. We will see what happens.”
On if he was aware Steelers QB Mason Rudolph was benched in the Steelers-Bengals game today:
“No, I was actually playing a game while they were playing so I did not know that Mason was benched.”
On potentially hearing about Rudolph being benched after the Browns game:
“I don’t really care what they did today. We had our job to do, and I will see the tape. I am not even playing directly against Mason. I will look at their defense and see what happened.”
On the Browns’ three-game winning streak and if the offense is now where it excepted to be:
“We are making strides in the direction that we need to. I would not say we are exactly right where we need to be, but we are showing flashes of that consistency that I talked about we need to have. It is heading in the right direction so we need to keep building on it.”
On RB Kareem Hunt scoring his first TD with the Browns and his impact on the offense:
“He has taken a load off of (RB) Nick’s (Chubb) plate. Obviously, Nick carrying that many carries throughout the year takes a toll on your body. Him being able to come in and spell him out a little bit is great. Obviously, then you add in his play, and it speaks for itself, his talent. He is a true team guy. He doesn’t care what happens. He just wants to win. Him being in there and him being that explosive player and that hungry guy adds a whole dynamic to our offense that we really need.”
On if he is ever surprised by or in awe how hard Chubb runs:
“I was about to say am I ever in awe, no, but I don’t want to take it for granted. The guy is very special. He continues to be special for us. We know exactly who he is. We can’t lose sight that he is a great player.”
On the Dolphins’ scoring 17 unanswered points and if it was necessary for the Browns offense to respond by finishing strong:
“Absolutely, that is where I am talking about the inconsistency offensively. We have to be able to – no matter what the score is – hit the reset button, go out there, do our job and put the game away when we need to.”
On if the Browns offense’s ‘pick your poison’ as it relates to who opposing defenses choose to focus on in the gameplan is beginning to show itself:
“I think it is. We talk about hitting strides offensively, we have our one-on-one matchups and we are taking those right now. When teams want to play us differently, we are doing a good job of running the ball.”
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