If for some reason Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson decides to send Baker Mayfield back to the bench in Week 4, he will have to explain why a rookie quarterback who put together one of the best debuts in over a decade did not earn the right to start.
According to Pro Football Focus, that’s exactly what Mayfield did on Thursday night. The analytical site graded Mayfield’s performance against the New York Jets as the best by a rookie quarterback in his NFL debut since 2006.
The highest graded performance by a rookie quarterback since we began grading in 2006. pic.twitter.com/5ioftXX8i3
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) September 21, 2018
After Tyrod Taylor left with a concussion, Mayfield completed 17-of-23 passes for 201 yards. He didn’t have a touchdown pass, but he also did not throw an interception and finished with a passer rating of 100.1, leading the Browns to a 21-17 win after they trailed 14-0 in the first half.
While calling Mayfield’s performance historic would be overdoing it for any other team, it probably qualifies as such for the Browns. Jackson wanted Mayfield to have a redshirt year behind Taylor, but there’s no way the coach can face this group of fans of he sticks with Taylor as his starter going forward.
