Baker Mayfield liked Freddie Kitchens' decision to go for it on fourth and goal from the three-yard-line during the second quarter of Cleveland's home victory over Buffalo. The Browns ultimately had to kick a field goal on the drive after Chris Hubbard committed an offsides penalty prior to the play.
Mayfield, the Browns' second year quarterback, was not happy with how loud the home crowd was at that moment in the game, with Cleveland's offense trying to score a touchdown after coming away empty during an earlier trip to the red zone. Despite their issues in the red zone, the Browns were able to edge the Bills, 19-16, while keeping their faint playoff hopes alive at 3-6.
"We believed we had a good call," Mayfield of the fourth down play, via the team's official website. "It was just our crowd noise seemed to be a little loud when we needed it to be quiet, which is strange at a home game."
Mayfield, when asked to clarify those comments on Tuesday, said that his comments were indeed directed at Browns fans and not Bills fans who may have added to the crowd noise when Cleveland's offense had the ball.
"When we're on offense, we need it to be quiet," Mayfield said, via Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald. "[Sunday's comments about the fans] might have ruffled some feathers; once again, that's OK. When we're on offense in a critical down, we need to be able to have silence in our home stadium. It's gonna be an advantage for us. And when they get the ball, it's gonna be really loud. It's, you know, basic football."
While crowed noise may or may not have contributed to Cleveland's red zone woes on Sunday, the Browns have done a better job not committing as many turnovers and pre-snap penalties over the past two games. After being among the league's most undisciplined teams during the season's first eight weeks, Cleveland committed just five penalties and no turnovers in their Week 9 loss to Denver. On Sunday, the Browns did not commit a turnover for the second straight week.
Have the Browns done anything differently to help cut down on the self-inflicted mistakes?
"We're just going out and just doing our job," Mayfield said. "That's what it's all about. It doesn't matter who we're playing. You have to do your job each and every play and have that focus throughout the whole game."
While he is surely hoping that his home crowd is receptive to his comments with regard to the noise, Mayfield won't be able to quiet the large contingency of Steelers fans that are expected to make the 133-mile trek to Cleveland for Thursday night's game. The Steelers, who are 7-0-1 against the Browns dating back to the 2015 season, are 15-4-1 at FirstEnergy Stadium. Pittsburgh's last loss in Cleveland took place in 2014 when Brian Hoyer helped lead the Browns to a 31-10 win. Injured Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who will be watching Thursday night's game from the sideline, owns the record for the most wins at FirstEnergy Stadium by a starting quarterback.
Defense and a gaudy turnover ratio are two of the reasons why the Steelers have won four straight games after a 1-4 start. Through nine games, Pittsburgh is second in the NFL in both takeaways (26) and turnover ratio (+13). In Sunday's 17-12 win over the Rams, the Steelers forced four turnovers that included safety Minkah Fitzpatrick's 43-yard fumble return for a score. Pittsburgh, led by T.J. Watt (9.5 sacks) are also third in the NFL with 33 sacks.
"They're creating turnovers," Mayfield said of the Steelers, "but they're protecting the ball as well, so that's why their margin in the turnover [ratio] is so positive."
While the Steelers' defense is formidable, the Browns' offense seems to be coming together. While their lack of red zone execution remains an issue, the return of Kareem Hunt (who missed the season's first eight games while on suspension) has added a new dimension to Cleveland's offense. Hunt, in his Browns debut, gained 74 total yards on 11 touches while complementing Nick Chubb, who recorded his fourth 100-yard rushing performance of the season. Cleveland also received a solid performance from Mayfield, who completed 68.4 percent of his throws with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
"Internally, yeah, I think we showed that we can come out within a critical game when it is a tight situation and be able to make the plays we needed to," Mayfield said of Cleveland's win over Buffalo. "We needed to have that. Moving forward, we know that we can do that. That goes a long way mentally for everybody in our locker room, but it is a singular focus."
