Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns turning the page after cutting Odell Beckham Jr.
It's not often that a new era begins in the middle of a season, but that happens to be the case for Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns.
After the Browns made the decision to part ways with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., a move that became official with OBJ being placed on waivers Monday, the post-Beckham era can begin in earnest.
However, an argument could be made that the Browns kicked off that chapter nearly a week ago, after 29-year-old Beckham wasn't moved at the trade deadline and subsequently was excused from practice.
With the wideout inactive Sunday, Mayfield and the Browns christened the new era with a resounding 41-16 win against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The 26-year-old Mayfield had arguably his best game of the season so far, completing 66.7% of his 21 pass attempts for 218 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a season-high 132.6 passer rating.
One of the presumed biggest beneficiaries of Beckham's absence, Donovan Peoples-Jones, scored a 60-yard touchdown to give the Browns a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter.
Most of all, though, Mayfield leaned on an unstoppable rushing attack behind commanding running back Nick Chubb.
The 25-year-old Chubb raced for 137 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries against the Bengals. His average of 9.8 yards per carry was the highest mark of his career in a game in which he had four or more rushing attempts.
With a stout defense giving Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow fits and forcing two interceptions, it was a grand way for the Browns to bounce back from a Week 8 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The victory also snapped a three-game losing streak for Mayfield, who missed his team's Week 7 win against the Denver Broncos due to an ailing shoulder.
After the game Sunday, Mayfield addressed the Beckham issue and kept it cordial when it came to his now-former teammate.
"I wish him well," he said. "From a personal standpoint, he’s a good friend of mine. We still haven’t talked, but that doesn’t change things. I wish him the best in his career, but I’m worried about the guys in our locker room."
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Baker Mayfield threw two touchdowns Sunday and addressed OBJ no longer being with the Browns, wishing the receiver well and going so far as to call him a "friend." Shannon Sharpe explains why the Browns' win in Week 9 does not show that the team is better without OBJ.
Given the blowout win against a division rival, much of the chatter Monday focused on the question: Are the Browns better on offense without Beckham?
On Monday's episode of "Speak For Yourself," Emmanuel Acho laid out how Mayfield made a statement amid the Beckham drama.
"Baker completed passes to eight different receivers," Acho said. "No receiver had over 100 yards, and no receiver had more than three catches. Yet the Browns had one of their highest offensive outputs of the season. … The statement Baker Mayfield made [Sunday] was that the Browns function best when everybody functions as a team."
When looking at how Cleveland has fared with and without OBJ in the lineup, it's difficult to argue that the wideout was a key contributor to the team's success. The Browns were 14-15 in games in which Beckham played during his tenure and 8-4 when he didn't play.
Their lone playoff win a season ago — their first since Jan. 1, 1995 — came when OBJ was out of the lineup due to injury.
Beyond that, Mayfield's numbers are markedly better without Beckham playing than they are with him on the field. In 28 games with Beckham, Mayfield has accrued 6,384 passing yards, 42 TDs, 29 INTs and an 84.8 passer rating.
In 26 games without Beckham? Mayfield has 6,648 passing yards, 41 TDs, 17 INTs and a 96.4 passer rating.
Colin Cowherd of "The Herd," related Beckham's presence with the Browns to a person on a camping trip or in a wedding party who doesn't fit with the rest of the group.
"Folks, it's not about collecting talent, as [Bill] Belichick says. You're building a team," Cowherd said Monday. "… [The Browns] have more than enough. You don't need another person on the camping trip. You don't need another groomsman. … Doesn't mean he's a bad person. He just never fit the room."
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Watch as Colin Cowherd breaks down why Baker Mayfield is better off without Odell Beckham Jr.
Marcellus Wiley of "Speak For Yourself" had a different read on the situation, though.
To Wiley, Mayfield's uptick in production with less on his shoulders is more of an "indictment" of the quarterback.
"Baker Mayfield is better with less talent around him — because OBJ is out the building — and Baker Mayfield is better with less when [the Browns] ask him to do less," Wiley explained Monday. "… That's an indictment on Baker Mayfield. Lack of trust. Low expectations. … Those are second-round-pick expectations. … I need to see something unexpected — of greatness — before he makes a big statement."
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Marcellus Wiley explains why Baker Mayfield's performance did not make a huge statement across the league.
The simplest way for Mayfield to prove his critics wrong — and his champions right — is, of course, to keep winning.
Sunday's game against the New England Patriots, who sport the same 5-4 record as the Browns, could make Beckham an afterthought sooner rather than later.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this story