Baker Mayfield clicking with OBJ, Jarvis Landry as Browns roll into Steelers rematch
CLEVELAND — Baker Mayfield might finally be finding a rhythm with his star wide receivers.
Mayfield tossed a season-high three touchdown passes Sunday — two to Jarvis Landry and another to Odell Beckham Jr. — as the surging Cleveland Browns rolled to a 41-24 rout against Miami for their third consecutive victory. It was the first time all season that Mayfield found Beckham and Landry for touchdowns in the same game.
Despite the collective talent, Mayfield’s chemistry with Beckham and Landry has been rocky at times this year. Lately, though, the three seem to be finding their groove together.
Through Cleveland’s first seven games — which included five losses — Mayfield had only one touchdown pass and a startling eight interceptions targeting Beckham or Landry.
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Over the past four games, however, Mayfield has six touchdowns and only one pick targeting Beckham and Landry, culminating in the scoring outbreak in the first half against the Dolphins.
Mayfield finished off the opening drive with a 7-yard touchdown strike to Landry, who arrived in Cleveland in a trade with Miami last year. Landry, who would later grab a 5-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield in the second quarter, has touchdown catches in each of the past four games, tied for the longest active streak in the NFL.
In between Landry’s touchdowns, Mayfield also hooked up with Beckham for a 35-yard score over the top of the Miami defense, breaking Beckham’s streak of eight straight games without a touchdown, which had been the longest of his career.
Behind Mayfield, Landry and Beckham, the Browns scored four touchdowns in a first half for just the second time since returning to the NFL in 1999, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Mayfield finished 24-of-34 for 327 yards, though he did toss one interception, throwing behind Beckham on a slant pattern early in the second half.
Otherwise, Mayfield was sharp. So, too, were Landry and Beckham, who together totaled 16 receptions and 232 receiving yards — easily their biggest combined output of the season.
Promising trend: Three weeks ago, Mayfield declared the Browns had to start force-feeding Beckham the ball early and often. That’s exactly what Cleveland has been doing ever since. Sunday, Beckham had eight targets, giving him 30 over the past three games, tied for the most he has been targeted over a three-game stretch all season. Beckham also drew two pass interference calls, which both came on Cleveland scoring drives.
QB breakdown: Mayfield delivered his best statistical game of the year, finishing with a quarterback rating of 118.1, a season high. He was especially efficient against the blitz, going 7-of-7 with two touchdowns against Miami’s blitz in the first half alone. That marked the first time all year Mayfield has had multiple touchdown passes against the blitz in a half, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Mayfield now has seven touchdown passes over his past three games, which matches the total he had through the first nine weeks of the season.
Bold prediction for next week: It should be a wild scene in Pittsburgh, on the heels of last week’s melee with the Steelers that saw the NFL punish 33 players and suspend Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett for the rest of the season for ripping off Mason Rudolph‘s helmet and striking the Pittsburgh quarterback in the head with it. In his appeal, Garrett accused Rudolph of inciting him with a racial slur, which Rudolph denied through his agent. In a show of support, Browns owner Dee Haslam was photographed Sunday donning Garrett’s No. 95 on her cap. Cleveland tailgaters were less subtle, playing Rudolph piñata, as blindfolded fans tried to hit a dummy mockup of the Steelers quarterback with a Pittsburgh helmet. When FirstEnergy Stadium showed Rudolph throwing an interception in Cincinnati on the video board, chants of “Pittsburgh sucks” and “Rudolph sucks” reverberated around the stands.
Given all that has transpired, it figures to be tense next weekend — both on the field and around Heinz Stadium.