Mayfield looked lost in the first quarter Sunday. His timing was off. He had no rhythm. Kareem Hunt dropped a screen, but otherwise, Mayfield’s pass attempts in the first quarter were down the field and into coverage. He completed exactly none of them.
So Kevin Stefanski slowed things down as the Browns’ play caller. He tried setting Mayfield up with a couple of easy completions to get him rolling: A bootleg to his favorite target, Jarvis Landry. A short completion in the slot to a wide-open Rashard Higgins, another favorite. A quick pass at the line of scrimmage to Landry, and suddenly Mayfield was rolling. Top it off with a pitch-and-catch touchdown pass to Harrison Bryant inside the 5, and Mayfield was starting to feel good about himself again.
When I asked Stefanski if he altered the play calls at all in the second quarter to make things a little easier on Mayfield, he acknowledged that he had.