Though the Browns beat the Vikings 14-7, Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield had a bad day throwing the ball.
He finished 15-of-33 passing for 155 yards. He didn’t have any giveaways, but it was clear Mayfield wasn’t at his best. The quarterback even told reporters after the game that his “piss-poor performance” wouldn’t cut it.
But one of the consequences of Mayfield’s showing is the narrative resurfacing about his chemistry with receiver Odell Beckham Jr. In his second game since returning from tearing his ACL last year, Beckham had just two catches for 27 yards on seven targets.
On Monday, head coach Kevin Stefanski said he’s not concerned about the partnership between quarterback and receiver.
“When you throw the ball deep, you’re not going to hit all of those,” Stefanski said Monday, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
Stefanski also noted that based on what he’s seen in practice, he doesn’t think Mayfield’s accuracy issues on Sunday stemmed from the quarterback’s left shoulder popping out against the Texans in Week Two.
Whatever the problem was, Mayfield has to correct it soon because the Browns are facing the Chargers in Week Five. And even with how well Cleveland’s defense is playing, the Browns will need to score more than 14 points to defeat Los Angeles’ explosive offense.