Baker Mayfield wishes OBJ well, says he's proud of Browns for focusing despite BS in buildup to win over Bengals

CINCINNATI — As Baker Mayfield walked off the field at Paul Brown Stadium, he tipped his ballcap to Browns fans who were gleeful about one of the most gutsy performances of the quarterback's NFL career.

Mayfield revealed he has yet to hear from Odell Beckham Jr. in the aftermath of the wide receiver forcing his way out of Cleveland.

What's more important is the Browns are 1-0 since Beckham dominated national and local headlines last week with his divorce from the franchise.

The Browns will officially release the three-time Pro Bowl selection Monday, with their locker room basking in the afterglow of a 41-16 blowout win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday's pivotal AFC North game at Paul Brown Stadium.

After the triumph, Mayfield addressed media for the first since Wednesday, when the Beckham situation hadn't yet been resolved. At the time, Mayfield said he held out hope OBJ would return to the team and they could work through their issues.

The Browns announced Friday morning they would release Beckham, and the two sides signed a settlement Saturday.

“My feelings haven't changed. I wish him well,” Mayfield said in his postgame news conference. “From a personal standpoint, he's a good friend of mine. We still haven't talked, but that doesn't change things. I wish him well. I wish him the best in his career, but I'm worried about the guys in our locker room.

“I'm proud of these guys how they were able to focus up despite all the bulls*** that was going on this week and how they were able to do their job. That's why I appreciate this group of guys and the staff that we have, so we're going to see if we can build on it and continue to get better.”

On Tuesday morning, Beckham's father, Odell Beckham Sr., shared a video on Instagram highlighting plays on which Mayfield missed opportunities to connect with a wide-open OBJ from Weeks 3-6 this season. Beckham Sr. also repeatedly wrote “#bigfacts” in agreement with people who ripped Mayfield in the comments section of the post.

Mayfield responded with one of his best statistical outings of the season, and the Browns (5-4) moved into third place in the division by thrashing the Bengals (5-4).

Wearing a harness on the his injured left, non-throwing shoulder, Mayfield completed 14 of 21 passes (66.7%) for 218 yards and two touchdowns without an interception for a rating of 132.6. He took two sacks. In the first half, Mayfield completed 7 of 8 passes (87.5%) for 121 yards and a touchdown without an interception for a perfect rating of 158.3, helping the Browns earn a 24-10 halftime lead.

Browns quick hits: Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, defense regroup for win over Bengals in aftermath of OBJ saga

A two-time college walk-on who won the Heisman Trophy at the University of Oklahoma and became the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Mayfield is known for thriving when his abilities are discounted.

“I'd say this is a pretty unique situation to be honest with you. This wasn't anything that I've had before,” Mayfield said of the Beckham drama. “But it's the type of sick, twisted mindset that I've idolized — guys like Kobe [Bryant] and Mike Tyson, people that when they have their back against the wall, the best comes out, and you see what somebody's made of.

“Mentally, you've got to find out how to do that every week, and that's just a part of the process and just being wired differently, it is what it is. But like I said, this is a team win. It wasn't about anybody else but this whole group as a unit, and I'm very, very proud of this group.”

Two-time Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb wasn't surprised by Mayfield's on-field response to the controversy surrounding Beckham, who had made multiple trade requests in the offseason, a person familiar with the situation said, and whose frustration reached a boiling point after he caught one pass on just one official target for 6 yards in last week's 15-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"That’s Baker for you. He’s not going to shy away from anything. He’s not going to be held back. He loves when people are doubting him. That’s what he feeds off of, and he showed that today. He looked unstoppable," said Chubb, who finished with 14 carries for 137 yards (9.8 average) and two touchdowns.

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With about 12:30 left in the third quarter, Mayfield came up limping after taking a sack. He also had a bloody left knee but downplayed the injury.

"I need orthotics," Mayfield said. "I'm like an old man and my heels hurt. I'm good, though. It was merely a flesh wound on my left knee.”

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Mayfield is "a tough dude," but it's his mental fortitude the Browns needed most to rally from the Beckham fallout. Mayfield's approach proved to be emblematic of the entire team.

"When adversity hits, nobody flinched," Mayfield said. "It was a long week. I’d be lying if I said otherwise. But proud of these guys and how they were able to focus and do their jobs.

"Our guys were together, just like they have been, and we played for each other."

Stefanski said his players are professionals and explained he felt their focus throughout the work week ahead of the game.

"We know we had things going on around us," Chubb said, "but we kept the main thing the main thing.

"It’s a resilient team. We’re going to keep going, going to keep working hard. We have a lot season ahead of us, and I think that made a great point for us moving forward."

On Thursday, safety John Johnson III said the majority of the locker room "flat out" wanted Beckham to stay with the Browns.

"We miss him," Johnson said Sunday. "He's a good teammate. We'd love to have him here, but at the end of the day, we just had to lock in on being pros. We had an opponent this week, a division opponent on the road, and that was kind of bigger than the situation at hand."

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Johnson commended Mayfield and other teammates for "blocking out the noise" attached to the Beckham debacle. The Browns had lost three of their previous four games, so Johnson said he believes their victory over the Bengals could be a "big turning point" this season.

"You can either tank and just start losing games or you can put all that stuff to the side, come together as a team and start winning," Johnson said.

All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett said he knew the Browns had put the Beckham soap opera "completely behind them" when cornerback Denzel Ward returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown on the opening series.

Before games, Garrett usually speaks to the team on the field. But Garrett signaled to Mayfield to take the floor Sunday. Mayfield delivered a speech, the Browns took his lead and overcame a tumultuous week with a crucial win.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Baker Mayfield wishes OBJ well, proud Cleveland Browns focused amid BS