How Baker Mayfield and the Browns can fix their offense

Baker Mayfield’s early struggles can be fixed.

The Browns’ offense has been surprisingly dull and unproductive, but it’s not doomed to be that way all year.

The Cleveland Browns’ offense was supposed to be exciting in 2019. So far, it’s anything but.

Baker Mayfield threw an NFL rookie-record 27 touchdown passes last season despite not starting until Week 4. When the Browns added Odell Beckham Jr. to Mayfield’s offensive arsenal in March, the hype train ran wild.

An offense with Mayfield, Beckham, Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, and David Njoku sure sounded unstoppable. Then the regular season arrived and the Browns lost 43-13 to the Titans in their opener. The offense only looked marginally better in a 23-3 win over the Jets in Week 2, and was back in neutral in a 20-13 loss to the Rams in Week 3.

Three weeks into the season, the Browns average 16.3 points per game, better than only the Raiders, Broncos, Jets, and Dolphins. Mayfield has thrown three touchdowns with five interceptions, and his 70.3 passer rating is the worst among quarterbacks who started all three weeks.

“Blame me,” Browns first-year head coach Freddie Kitchens told reporters after their Week 3 loss, via Cleveland.com. “The first thing we can do is, I can start calling better plays and putting our guys in better situations.”

Kitchens got the job after he was credited with helping Mayfield to a tremendous second half of the 2018 season as offensive coordinator. But amidst the criticism of the Browns’ slow start, and his own admission that he deserves blame, Kitchens isn’t passing the sticks.

Are the Browns doomed to a whole season of disappointing play from Mayfield and the rest of the offense? Not necessarily. Cleveland can still sort things out. But it needs to do so quickly.

The Browns don’t have much receiving depth behind their stars

In the first half of Cleveland’s Week 1 loss to the Titans, wide receiver Rashard Higgins was rolled up from behind on a screen pass. He suffered a knee injury that kept him out of action for the remainder of that game and the next two weeks.

Prior to his departure, Higgins caught passes for 11 and 35 yards on the Browns’ opening drive of the season. Those were Higgins’ only two receptions before he left the game. That particular trip down the field ended with a four-yard rushing touchdown for running back Dontrell Hilliard.

Higgins was a large part of what kept the Browns’ offense moving in 2018, too. He only caught 39 passes that year, but 27 resulted in first downs for Cleveland for the highest percentage on the team.

Fortunately for the Browns, Higgins should be back soon. He’s been limited in practice the last two weeks and questionable for Weeks 2 and 3. A return to action appears on the way.

That’s good because without Higgins, Mayfield hasn’t had a safety blanket to move the chains. The lack of receiving depth behind Beckham and Landry has hurt the team, and has led to Mayfield been waiting way too long for somebody to get open.

Mayfield’s lack of faith in his line is worse than the actual blocking

The Browns did a better job protecting Mayfield in 2018, but not that much better. The offensive line allowed 177 pressures last season (11.1 per game) and has given up 46 (15.3 per game) so far in 2019.

That’s a jump, but the raw numbers don’t account for how long Mayfield has been holding the ball.

Mayfield’s average pass attempt took 2.57 seconds in 2018, and it took an average of 3.26 seconds to sack him. Those numbers have climbed to 2.74 and 3.61 seconds, respectively.

It isn’t just that Mayfield’s waiting longer to throw in 2019, however; it’s how he has stood in the pocket. Mayfield has been unusually skiddish, limiting his receiving options by bailing to the right side of the field. Far too often he has scrambled despite standing in a clean pocket.

Here’s an example from the last drive of the Browns’ loss to the Rams:

The Rams did well in coverage on the play, but Mayfield puts pressure on himself by leaving the pocket. He also eliminates his two options on the left side of the field and shrinks the windows to his three receivers on the right. (It doesn’t help that those receivers bunched together.)

That’s why the extra time that Mayfield can buy with his legs isn’t helping.

Last year, Mayfield had a 94.5 passer rating when he got the ball out of his hand in less than 2.5 seconds, and a 93.9 passer rating when he waited longer than that. His passer rating is still 92.3 when he gets the ball out in less than 2.5 seconds, but now it’s just 48.0 on throws after that mark.

That’s from a quarterback who was great outside the pocket in 2018.

It’s good to have a quarterback who can keep a play alive when the pocket falls apart. But scrambling becomes a problem when that player leans on that ability when it isn’t necessary. That was especially true against the Rams.

Fixing that issue for Mayfield is probably easier said than done. The Browns could add more tempo to the offense and draw up more plays that get the ball out fast. The impending return of Higgins could also help. But Mayfield may also simply need a few big plays to get his trademark swagger back.

Mayfield isn’t missing explosive plays by that much

Much of what made the rookie version of Mayfield fun was his fearless-bordering-on-reckless style. He had a 107.6 passer rating on deep balls (20 yards or more downfield) and was among the NFL’s most accurate quarterbacks on tight-window throws.

That has changed in 2019. Mayfield’s passer rating on deep balls in 2019 is 47.9 with five completions, an interceptions, and no touchdowns on 14 attempts.

His trust that he can complete tight window throws has also resulted in a league-leading amount of ill-advised pass attempts.

Those risks need to be dialed back, but the statistics might also make Mayfield look more off the mark than he has been. Mayfield has made multiple plays that were razor close to being game-changing highlights for the Browns.

Of course, Mayfield could also help himself by taking the easier option when it’s available.

Ultimately, the Browns’ surprising offensive ineptitude in September stems from multiple problems, but most of them are fixable.

Kitchens deserves plenty of blame for some stale and uncreative play calling, like eight running back screens against the Rams and a draw on fourth down. But the solution very well may be as simple as getting Mayfield in rhythm.

A more comfortable Mayfield will also be a more confident one. That may be all it takes to get the Browns’ offense back on track, because it’s really not that far off as is.