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It has been a rough seven weeks for the Cleveland Browns.
A preseason favorite to challenge for the team’s first playoff appearance since 2002, the Browns are currently riding a three-game losing streak that has dropped their record to 2-5 on the season.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield’s season has mirrored the overall trajectory of the team, as he has thrown just six touchdowns against 12 interceptions and is completing just 57.6 percent of his passes.
Mayfield let his frustration emerge on Wednesday when he walked out of his weekly meeting with the team’s beat writers over a question from Tony Grossi, a reporter for 850 WKNR radio, an ESPN affiliate in Cleveland:
Mayfield vs Grossi continues....He was fine with everyone else’s questions about mindset etc... pic.twitter.com/5bTHNrurkP
— Patrick Claybon (@PatrickClaybon) October 30, 2019
Grossi was asking Mayfield about the drive at the end of the first half against New England, when the Browns were trying to cut into a 17-7 deficit. Cleveland had moved out to its own 39-yard line before a 10-yard sack of Mayfield and a false start penalty on left tackle Justin McCray short-circuited the drive.
The half would end without the Browns scoring and they would ultimately go on to lose, 27-13.
When asked about the drive, Mayfield let his emotions get the best of him:
“Was I happy with the drive?! No, we didn’t score points. That’s the dumbest question you could ask. What?”
Shortly after the exchange, Mayfield took to Twitter to explain his frustration:
Everybody wants to hear the truth until they actually get it.... I am who I am and always have been. Don’t call it emotional when it’s convenient and then passion when it fits. I care about winning, so yeah I’m frustrated. If I was to act like it’s okay to lose, then y’all would
— Baker Mayfield (@bakermayfield) October 30, 2019
Was it the best way for Mayfield to handle the question? No. Was it understandable given the way things have gone this season? Yes.
One item lost in all this is that Mayfield spoke for almost seven minutes without a problem before being hit with Grossi’s question that set him off.
QB Baker Mayfield at the podium. https://t.co/0YX5Ui9NWY
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) October 30, 2019
The Browns will return to the field on Sunday when they travel to Denver to take on the Broncos in what has become as close to a must-win game as a team can have at this point in the season.