Sep 22, 2018 5 min read

How can you not like Baker Mayfield?

Yeah, he plays for the Cleveland Browns and if you root for the Steelers, you’re supposed to hate the Browns and anybody who plays for them. You’re supposed to hate all the Cleveland sports teams and everything about Cleveland, including the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame, but Mayfield coming off the bench and leading the Browns to their first win in more than 600 days was the NFL’s best moment in the 2018 season.

It’s only one game and there’s still a chance he could end up being a bust, but he seems to be one of those players who shouldn’t be counted out.

He was too short to get a scholarship so he walked on at Texas Tech and became the starting quarterback. Then, he got hurt and transferred to Oklahoma, where he wasn’t any taller. Mayfield walked on there, too. He ended up starting for three years. Oklahoma went 34-6. He won the Heisman Trophy. Lots of really smart football people said he was too short to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

The Browns took him and decided that the very average Tyrod Taylor should be the starter until Mayfield was ready. Or maybe taller.

In about half a game, he was 17-for-23 for 200 yards and was the reason the Browns ended their losing streak. He didn’t look, act or play like a rookie. He was in control. And, at 6-1, he’s not really that short. He’s taller than Drew Brees and Russell Wilson.

If you like good, entertaining football, you should be glad he’s in Cleveland. And if you like a good rivalry, which Steelers-Browns used to be, you should be OK with Mayfield becoming a star. He has a long, long way to get there but it’s hard to imagine a better start. You also should probably be happy that he didn’t begin the season as the Browns’ starter. If he had, there’s a good chance the Steelers would have been going into their game in Tampa tomorrow night 0-2.

The Browns had the first overall pick in 2017 and the player they drafted, defensive end Myles Garrett, is already considered a major force and a foundation for what is already considered a good defense. Maybe the Browns are still the Browns and maybe they still stink but one thing they don’t appear to be anymore is a guaranteed win for the other teams in the AFC North, including the Steelers.

• So, now might be a good time to ask: Whose long term future would you rather have, the Browns’ or the Steelers?
• The consensus seems to be that Antonio Brown is the best wide receiver in the NFL. But there also seems to be a consensus that teams don’t win championships with guys like Brown on the roster. The only way for Brown to change that opinion, of course, is to play on a Super Bowl winning team. After Brown was seen in what looked like a sideline shouting match with his offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner then not showing up for work on Monday, Brown reinforced the belief that he’s a diva. There was lots of discussion this week about the need for better leadership on the Steelers.

Most of that criticism was directed toward Mike Tomlin. Fans and some in the media think he’s too much of players’ coach. Maybe that’s legitimate, but what about Ben Roethlisberger? He’s 35 and been around a long time. Brown is 30 and obviously needs to grow up. At some point, shouldn’t Roethlisberger be getting in Brown’s face? Brown, who’s usually the last player dressed after a game, was the first one out the door last Sunday after the loss to the Chiefs.

You know what would have been a good sign? Instead of the media watching Brown bolting past them out the door, they would have caught Roethlisberger chewing Brown out.

Most of the players, including Roethlisberger, when asked about Brown after the game and later in the week, stuck up for him.

Brown needs a big game against the Buccaneers Monday night and the Steelers really, really need a win that will change the conversation.

• Pat Narduzzi’s not going to like the conversation after Pitt’s loss at North Carolina yesterday. The only way to make up for the embarrassing loss to Penn State is to win the games he should win in the ACC. North Carolina was 0-2 with a loss to East Carolina. This is beginning to look like another season without a bowl trip. The defense, which is supposed to be Narduzzi’s specialty, is terrible. And Pitt has been terrible in the fourth quarter. What does it say about the coaching when a team scores one fourth quarter touchdown in four games?

Isn’t half time when coaches make adjustments?

Pitt stinks in the second half. After going up and down the field in the first half and scoring 28 points, all the Pitt offense could manage in the second half yesterday was one touchdown and 105 total yards.

Pitt proved a long time ago that firing the coach doesn’t do much good but if Narduzzi has another losing season, it might be time to try it again.

And the win over Albany doesn’t count.