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- Mar 19, 2019
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The Browns have made their move in 2020. Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is making his move, too.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Mayfield acknowledged that he plays better with confidence. And so as quality play results in more confidence, he’ll become even more confident. And thus play even better.
“[P]laying with confidence is where I am at my best,” Mayfield said. “Trusting these calls, trusting my eyes and going through it and trusting my guys around me.”
It helps that Mayfield has a high degree of confidence in his head coach, Kevin Stefanski. Mayfield said that he believed Stefanski could take the team as far as he has when Stefanski was hired.
“I do, just from the first time I met with him,” Mayfield said. “We hit on this earlier in the season right around training camp when he came down Austin and we met for the first time. . . . Just how on the same page [Stefanski and G.M. Andrew Berry] were, which was new to me. That was a comforting feeling. You knew the potential was there. Nobody said it was going to be easy, and we are still getting better. Like I said, that is the best part is we are continuing to improve as this goes on. We have laid a foundation and we need to continue to build and reset that standard.”
Mayfield’s current confidence traces to the bye week, which came after a 16-6 loss to the Raiders dropped the Browns to 5-3.
“It was conversations that we had to be able to kind of evaluate where we were as an offense and what we were doing well and what we were not doing well,” Mayfield said of the efforts during the bye. “Those conversations that we were able to go through of how I am seeing it and just the things that we missed in an offseason with no preseason games, vital conversations that we were able to get even more on the same page. I think we are seeing that now.”
There’s one way in which Mayfield and Stefanski aren’t on the same page. After Mayfield’s interception on Monday night, his first since the errant throw in Week Seven against the Bengals that led to receiver Odell Beckham Jr. tearing his ACL while trying to make a tackle, Mayfield and Stefanski disagreed on who should take responsibility for it.
“He is the type of guy that he always wants to take the blame,” Mayfield said. “We just had a straight up conversation, and he said it was my bad I said it was my bad. We have to move on and the most important play is the next one. It is just a very clear-cut relationship and open line of communication.”
Most importantly, it’s working. The Browns are winning, they’re heading to the playoffs, and they’ve proven over the last two weeks that they can compete in January. Mayfield, with the first back-to-back 300-yard games of his career, is proving that he can lead the Browns to higher and higher levels.