Marcellus Wiley: Baker Mayfield needs to focus on winning, not having a memorable game
Winning is the name of the game when it comes to football. That's in all sports, for that matter.
And lately, the Browns haven't been doing that with much frequency. They're 7-7, last in the AFC North, with ever-increasing odds of missing the postseason. Their quarterback is a big part of that.
But he doesn't have to be. In fact, Baker Mayfield doesn't have to impact the game much at all, according to Marcellus Wiley.
"The Browns must win this game, and Baker Mayfield must ensure that the Browns win," the "Speak For Yourself" host said Thursday.
"There's no more learning about Baker Mayfield this season. What if he goes out there and balls? You won't believe it fully because you don't think it will be continued. Let's do the negative: He goes out there and lays an egg, sucks. You know what, we already thought that about you."
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Marcellus Wiley explains why it's more important for the Browns to beat the Packers than Baker performing well.
For Wiley, the less that Mayfield affects the game for Cleveland, the better.
"Here's the biggest problem, they don't need him to ball out to have team success and win football games."
"When he throws for over 300 yards going back to last year, they're 1-3. Going back to 2018, they're 5-5. When he throws more than two TDs, they're 3-3. They win in spite of him. They're designed to: They have a Pro Bowl running back, Pro Bowl offensive linemen, Pro Bowlers on the defensive side of the ball. They're trying to win in spite of Baker Mayfield, so if he's smart at this moment, he respects that, and he gets out of the way and ensures a victory."
All Mayfield has to do, in Wiley's view, is focus on minimizing his mistakes, not on being the cog that shifts the needle.
"Now, Baker Mayfield has to help them buy all in to ‘we’re going to win in spite of Baker Mayfield,'" Wiley added.
"Let's look at him in totality. What was his best year? Some say his rookie year, and some say last year. You know why there's a conversation? Because, his rookie year, the numbers were pretty much the same as last year. But last year, they won. That's the condiments, the cherry on top. So selfishly, Mayfield has to make sure this team wins."