Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield talks back to a fan of the then-1-14 Cincinnati Bengals before kickoff and then proceeds to lose to the Bengals.
When you’re all bark and no bite, you’re the 2019 Cleveland Browns.
Their preseason hype was stupid to begin with and if you placed a wager on the Browns going to the Super Bowl, you shouldn’t be allowed to handle Monopoly money in your household. All the while, Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield had a second NFL season from hell.
Shortly before kickoff of the Browns’ rivalry game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Mayfield was being heckled by a Bengals fan near the visiting locker room’s tunnel at Paul Brown Stadium. The fan asked Mayfield what it’s going to be like losing to a 1-14 football team, the Bengals’ record at the time of their second annual meeting.
Mayfield would respond with, ‘Why don’t you come down here and tell that to my face?” The fan would then say, “We’re not allowed to. You know that.” A few fans near him would invite Mayfield up to the stands to tell Who Dey Nation how he really feels. Of course, Mayfield wasn’t coming up there with the plebs, he had a game to lose on Sunday.
With the No. 1 overall pick already lined up for the Bengals, Cincinnati came out and played arguably its best game of the season. The Bengals won easily 33-23 and never looked back after taking a 13-7 lead over the visiting Browns. For Cincinnati, it was a 2-14 campaign that will result in Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow making his way to the Queen City. As for Cleveland…
The Browns went 6-10 this season, a year after going 7-8-1 and desperately trying to convince us perpetual and habitual dysfunction was a thing of the past. Well, the Browns entered training camp with fleas and their season went to hell in a handbasket shortly after somehow beating the Baltimore Ravens in the first quarter of the year. Yes, Mayfield was partly responsible for this.
We can play the blame game all we want. Many members of the Browns organization deserve blame. From ownership, to the front office, to the coaching staff, to the star quarterback, all the way down, everybody is at fault. At the end of the day, this is what disappointment looks like in its purest form.
With the season over, maybe Cleveland will finally shut up and go home?