Cleveland Browns

Brown Out

Updated Jul. 12, 2021 12:42 p.m. ET

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By Martin Rogers

It was the final day of January and the sun was shining in Miami – because, well, it usually does there – and Baker Mayfield was talking about having fun.
 
Things were a lot different back in Super Bowl week, and most people probably had greater cause for general optimism. But Mayfield, in town like many NFL quarterbacks during the pro game’s biggest party, was specific.
 
He wanted the Cleveland Browns to start winning more frequently. More than anything else, he wanted them to start enjoying themselves.

 "Winning is fun, but to get there and get to winning you have got to have fun throughout the process," Mayfield told me, a few days before Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to triumph.
 
Mayfield’s message was clear. Instead of being hidebound by pressures, expectations and the frustration of failed seasons past, the quarterback wanted his team to be a more relaxed group going into the current campaign.

Hmm. How’s that working out for you, Baker?
 
The answer might be largely dictated by the outcome of Thursday night’s clash between Mayfield’s Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals. For if the Browns lose this one, let’s be real, this year will start looking like no fun at all.

 There have been plenty of false starts and supposed new dawns for Cleveland, but few match last year’s effort in terms of disappointment. Having gone in as many people’s pick to win the AFC North and a sneaky long-shot Super Bowl sleeper for some, it didn’t turn out that way at all.
 
Things started dismally, scarcely improved, and finished horribly – all that promise flushed away with a 6-10 record, despite the presence of Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry and other talents to back up Mayfield on the offensive side of the ball.

Now, just days into the restart, major questions are being asked. Losing to a legitimate Super Bowl contender in the Baltimore Ravens, like they did in Week 1, can be forgiven.

Getting overturned by an Ohio rival that won only two games last year and has a rookie QB, albeit a really good one in Joe Burrow, would be much harder to deal with.
 
"I am ready and I am very early on this," FS1’s Kevin Wildes said on First Things First. "We are going to climb the mountain of ‘must-win’ and plant Baker Mayfield’s flag at the summit."

According to FOX Bet, the Browns are currently listed as a six-point favorite in Thursday's matchup with the Bengals. They are +700 to win the AFC North, while Cincinnati is +3500.
 
The glossiest interpretation of Thursday night’s game is that it is a chance to get things on track, at least to a point. In truth, it is a game with everything to lose. Cleveland is not likely to start getting anointed as a team on the rise by beating Cincinnati, but a defeat would lead to the assumption that this is yet another lost campaign, and maybe a QB worth giving up on.
 
First Things First co-host Brandon Marshall offered a blueprint for what the Browns need to do on the field to maximize their chance of success.

"Get (Beckham) involved early," Marshall said. "If you can get him two or three wide receiver screens, he is someone who can save you late.
 
"When you have Kareem Hunt and you have Nick Chubb, commit to the run so you can help your struggling QB. Let’s not get lost in the shuffle. On third down you have to go through Jarvis Landry. He has the most chemistry with the QB, more than anyone on your team. And the last thing that the Browns need to do if they are going to come out victorious, they have to play better defense."

Brandon Marshall's keys to the Browns getting a bounce-back win against the Bengals | FIRST THINGS FIRST

Brandon Marshall discusses the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals matchup on Thursday Night Football tonight. Brandon Marshall gives his keys to Baker Mayfield and the Browns defeating the rookie Joe Burrow and the Bengals.

In truth, these are worrisome times in Cleveland – a reality that should be made obvious by the fact that we are talking about them needing to beat the Bengals to save their season, with no certainty that it is going to happen.
 
"It feels so much worse right now because when you try extra hard, the failure feels more acute," Cleveland supporter Erik Lockwood told me. "We have really good players who have thrived elsewhere and here they are no good. In some ways it is worse than when we were truly terrible and expected nothing more."
 
Maybe it all changes from here. Mayfield may not have a ton of time but he does have a chance to resurrect his career and people’s belief in him. Beckham starting to shine and becoming a true superstar once again would not be a monumental surprise.  Stefanski, the Browns' new head coach, has a defined opportunity to make his name. 
 
If it all clicks, just like that – now that would be a lot of fun. Right now, there’s surely not much humor to be found.

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Martin Rogers