Baker Mayfield's Mindset Must Change

Sad Baker Mayfield.
Sad Baker Mayfield. / Joe Sargent/Getty Images
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The Browns are 4-2 going on 0-16. At least that's the vibe emanating around the team according to quarterback Baker Mayfield speaking to media today.

""The feeling throughout [our] building after that loss -- 4-2 has never felt so much like 0-6 before. But that's because we have very high expectations for ourselves.""

It's good to have high expectations. With a roster littered with high draft picks, Pro Bowl accolades and I'm-the-shit personalities, you'd hope expectations would be high. And yes, the Browns' 38-7 dismantling at the hands of the division rival Steelers was embarrassing. But anyone who knows anything about math (or football) knows one loss doesn't equate to six losses and one bad week shouldn't shake a winning foundation built in the five previous weeks.

And yet here we are, the same old Browns, lamenting missed opportunities.

""I'm pissed. And at this point, I don't really care to keep trying to make myself look like a good guy to the world and all that s---. ... Tired of losing. Tired of losing to good teams.""

That quote came from Odell Beckham Jr. today. Whether it came before or after he said him and coronavirus have a mutual respect so he wouldn't be attacked by it is unclear. What is clear is there's frustration in the ranks surrounding the Browns' inability to get a W against the better teams in the league.

With wins against the 1-4 Bengals, 1-5 Washington, 1-5 Giants and 4-2 Colts along with losses to the 5-0 Steelers and 5-1 Ravens, the Browns have some work to do before they can compete against the NFL elite. Complaining about how long it's taking to get there and saying you feel winless isn't the best mindset, however. It's negative. It's shortsighted. It's counterproductive. It's everything we've come to expect from the Browns.

It's only Week 6 of 17 in the NFL and the Browns want to be crowned Super Bowl champs now. Unfortunately for them, that's not how this works. You have to lose to good teams in order to understand what you have to do to earn a win the next time around. You have to face adversity and pain and disappointment. Then you need to overcome that through refocusing and studying game film and practicing hard and working to improve. Basically you have to be resilient, more resilient than your opponent, to beat them on the field. Just look at the Chiefs last year, who trailed by double digits in every playoff game (including the Super Bowl!) and still won it all.

I'm not saying the Browns aren't those things. They could be. They have 11 more weeks (and maybe the playoffs) to figure it out. But thinking negatively and being mad that you aren't undefeated in a sport where no one except the 1972 Dolphins went undefeated isn't helpful. It's undermining to the process it takes to reach the promised land. Until the Browns realize that, they'll continue to be disappointed.