'It's crunch time': Browns' Baker Mayfield expects to play his best with fresh, focused mindset

BEREA — Whether Baker Mayfield took General Manager Andrew Berry’s words last week as a challenge or merely an affirmation of how he already felt, the quarterback realizes what’s at stake for the Browns in the final five games.

“Kind of the mentality we went into it the last two weeks is we still have everything in front of us. But now it’s crunch time,” Mayfield said Wednesday. “Everybody’s talking about playoffs, but that’s when we need to have that singular focus, block out everything else and realize that we need to take care of business one day and one week at a time.”

That emphasis starts with improved play from Mayfield as the Browns (6-6) host the AFC-North leading Baltimore Ravens (8-4) Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium. The conference race for seven postseason spots is jumbled, with FiveThirtyEight giving the Browns a 20 percent chance to make the playoffs, ninth-best in the AFC.

To make a postseason push, the Browns will need more from Mayfield, who has thrown for 11 touchdowns in 11 games, completed 62.2% of his passes, and leads a passing attack that ranks 24th in the league (207 yards per game).

Mayfield has played with a torn labrum in his left shoulder since Week 2 and has also dealt with groin, right knee, and left heel injuries. Berry recognized all that on Dec. 1, but said, “We expect him to play his best football down the stretch after the bye.”

Asked why he believes he will do that, Mayfield said, “Anytime you can kind of step back and kind of re-evaluate everything and come back with a fresh mindset and realize where we’re at right now, and have that one-week-at-a-time mentality … that’s where our heads are and that’s where I play my best.”

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Tight end Austin Hooper, among the players closest to Mayfield, said the Browns’ faith in him has not wavered.

“Everyone in this building believes in him,” Hooper said. “No matter where you stand with anything, anybody, you can't ever question Bake's toughness.

“For him to have a week to just heal up alone is huge. We all believe in him. We have believed in him. We'll continue to believe in him. He's the leader of our football team, so, I mean, we're ready to watch him be him.”

Mayfield said he went to Arizona for a few days during the bye week, then to his home in Austin, Texas, to hang out and see family. He said the “much-needed rest” helped him “quite a bit” physically.

“I haven’t had any major setbacks the past few weeks and I had another week off, so I’m looking forward to keep getting better as the weeks go on,” Mayfield said.

The lower body injuries affected Mayfield's mobility. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said he didn't see a noticeable difference Monday, but added, "He looked good. He was moving around. He looked like himself, so I think he was pleased with where he is currently.”

The Browns are 2-5 in Mayfield’s last seven starts going back to a road loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 10. They’ve scored no more than 17 points in six of the last seven games. To end that slump, the Browns need to replicate their results after their Nov. 8, 2020, bye. They posted a 7-3 record after the break, finished 11-5, and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

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“We’re just looking to overall being better on offense, score more points, convert on third downs, just be better overall in those critical situations and capitalize when our defense is playing like it has been,” Mayfield said.

Mayfield said the self-scout conducted by Stefanski was essentially “overanalyzing it and ... seeing what you’re good at and trying to expand on that and fix the corrections.”

Hooper came away with the sense that the Browns can replicate their post-bye success from a year ago.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Hooper said. “Just being back in the building the past couple days ... it’s been awesome seeing the stuff we’ve done through self-scout, seeing where we are, seeing the things we do well, see what needs improvement and having a clear plan, a clear vision to get to where we want to be.”

That vision will be tested against the Ravens, who beat the Browns 16-10 on Nov. 28 at M&T Bank Stadium despite Baltimore quarterback and 2019 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson throwing four interceptions.

“There were plays to be made, that’s for sure,” Mayfield said of that meeting on "Sunday Night Football." “We need to expect they’re going to bring pressure and we need to have better answers. There’s little things that make a huge difference when you’re in a tight game like that that we just didn’t do.”

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/browns. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.

Ravens at Browns

Time: 1 p.m. Sunday

TV: CBS

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Browns Baker Mayfield focused, healthier for playoff push