Baker Mayfield was booed by the Cleveland crowd after the Browns won at home over the Detroit Lions. Good on the members of the Dawg Pound that have finally come to understand who he is. He is an average NFL quarterback. There is nothing wrong with that. It is wrong to fight so hard to convince the outside world that Baker is an elite quarterback.
He can act tough with the media and claim he doesn't care about the fans who booed him, but that hurts him. It had to. Every player, coach, and team executive have cause for concern when the home team is booed by its own fans. It takes a lot to get the home crowd to support Baker, especially since the Dawg Pound has been defending him for close to four years. For those fans to turn their backs on a man is insane.
For the second year in a row, the Cleveland fans should be thankful for the fact that the Browns are still in the playoffs. Let's not act like the one leading the charge is the one who is 5-5. Baker apologists will bring up all the injuries he has had this year. Who is not dealing with multiple injuries by this point in the season? If he is really that messed up, then he needs to take a week or two off. It becomes counter productive if you have many injuries at the quarterback position. In the win against Detroit, Baker had 179 yards passing, 1 touchdown, and 2 turnovers. You can't convince me that the Browns won the game because of the performance of Mayfield.
Baker walking off the field immediately after the win is fitting. I understand that he is frustrated. The injuries, subpar play, and the fans booing him in his house is a lot to calculate in a matter of minutes. The organization of the Browns is also to be held accountable. Baker has been allowed to play himself out of a contract extension by the head coach and his staff. The world knows that Cleveland wasn't sold on Mayfield coming into this season. He missed only one game this year, and the Browns won it with Case Keenum.
The fans have finally come to terms with the fact that Baker isn't the long-term solution at quarterback, and they lashed out at him. The team is winning, but the team could put a lot of other QBs under center and come out with the same result, if not better, than what Mayfield has done. The math is very simple in this equation. It is time for both sides to move on because things will not get better in Cleveland with Baker at quarterback. He is a good player but not an elite one. It is the hardest pill to swallow after going for so long and realizing that he will not be what the fans wanted him to be. The fans in Cleveland are not getting what they deserve.
