What Winless Streak? The Browns Under Baker Mayfield Are 1-0

Crack open the victory fridges and hand out the free beer, the Cleveland Browns have finally won a game.
It was not the Super Bowl, or even a playoff game; it did not put the Browns in first place, or even give them a winning record, but Cleveland, thanks to an electric debut by Baker Mayfield, beat the Jets, 21-17, on Thursday night, ending a winless streak that had stretched for 635 days.
There was no expectation that Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, would play in this game because the veteran Tyrod Taylor was entrenched at quarterback. But after getting off to a terrible start, Taylor sustained a concussion in the second quarter, opening the door for Mayfield, who woke up a team that was trailing, 14-0, when he jogged onto the field to raucous cheers at Cleveland’s FirstEnergy Stadium.
Mayfield showed off everything that made him the top pick in the draft. He created plays with his legs, he made difficult throws look easy, he even caught a 2-point conversion on a trick play in which he split out as a receiver and caught a floater in the end zone thrown by Jarvis Landry, a wide receiver.
Cleveland instantly took the momentum of the game under Mayfield, who ended up throwing for 201 yards in just over two quarters of action, easily outdueling Sam Darnold of the Jets, who was taken two picks after Mayfield in the draft.
Tonight was his night,” Coach Hue Jackson said of Mayfield at his postgame news conference. “It was his coming-out party.
Mayfield, who is known for a fiery personality on and off the field, kept things cool, crediting his teammates and expressing concern for Taylor. But he also projected a great deal of confidence in the direction the Browns were headed.
“It’s not the only win we’re going to celebrate,” he said. “It’s a building block for us.”
That confidence is the reason so many of Mayfield’s teammates have expressed excitement about him since the moment he was drafted. When asked if there was any doubt that Mayfield was the man for the job, Landry broke into laughter.