The Cleveland Browns offense has scored a grand total of 27 points over the past three games, including Sunday night's 10-point output in a six-point loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Despite the offensive struggles, coach Kevin Stefanski stood steadfast behind quarterback Baker Mayfield. Pressed on whether there could be a QB change during the club's bye week, Stefanski responded: "No. Let me ask you a question, Why would we do that? We're not doing that."
Mayfield has been dealing with shoulder, foot and knee injuries but has played in five straight games after missing Week 7's win over Denver. In the past three weeks, Mayfield has completed 50.6% of his passes for 165.3 yards per game with a 3-3 TD-INT ratio and a 65.1 passer rating.
On Sunday night against the 31st-ranked Ravens pass defense, Mayfield tossed for 247 yards and a TD while completing just 48.6% of his passes. The QB missed a host of throws wide and was under constant pressure, taking two sacks.
"We had some opportunities and made some big plays, but we have to get guys open," Stefanski said of his offense Sunday, . "And we've got to find a way to stay on the field on third down."
The Browns converted just 4 of 13 third downs Sunday, and Baltimore stuffed the usually potent run game. Cleveland generated a season-low 40 rush yards, the fewest rushing yards since Week 13, 2018 against Houston (31 rush yards), under then-interim coach Gregg Williams (on that day, Baker threw for 397 yards, a TD and 3 INTs).
"It's frustrating. It is very frustrating,'' Stefanski said. "To not score enough, it's always a combination of things -- staying on the field on third down, trying to run the ball effectively and getting in the red zone, all of those things. But we're just not doing a good enough job, and that starts with me."
With veteran Case Keenum as the backup option, the Browns will continue to plow forward with Mayfield as the starter now and into the future. The broader question for the 6-6 Browns, who sit last in the AFC North, is whether Mayfield's struggles this season cause the club to rethink a big long-term deal for their former No. 1 overall pick.
