After both the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys experienced offensive misfires in their season openers, they’ve both piled up points over their last two contests.
The Browns have averaged 34.5 points per game in their victories over the Cincinnati Bengals and the Washington Football Team. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have averaged 35.5 points in their win over the Atlanta Falcons and loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Dak Prescott has thrown for over 450 yards in each of those games for the Cowboys as well.
With the two teams squaring off this Sunday in Dallas, Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield knows he may need to be prepared to score a lot of points to keep up with the Cowboys offense.
“Dak is a great player,” Mayfield said Wednesday, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. “A tremendous amount of respect for him, the leader and the person he is. When it comes down to it, we’re playing the Cowboys defense and we have to do whatever it takes to win. If that’s a shootout, then great, and if it’s another game where we have to control the clock, then we will do that. Whatever it takes to win.”
Mayfield hasn’t put up eye-popping statistics himself as the Browns have counted on Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt to fuel most of their offense the last two weeks. Mayfield has completed 16 of 23 passes in both games against Cincinnati and Washington with 219 yards, two touchdowns and an interception against the Bengals and 156 yards and two touchdowns against Washington.
The Cowboys aren’t likely to give Mayfield and the Browns offense five turnovers with four drives starting inside the opponent’s 41-yard line.
“I just think I need to play the best I possibly can,” Mayfield said. “There are some of those pre-snap things that I know I can handle better, and some of the footwork and all that. I can do that better compared to what I did against Washington so I just need to be able to execute.”