NFL Power Rankings, Week 3: Rams earn statement win in rematch with Saints
By Dan Parzych
20. Cleveland Browns (Play Monday Night)
After all the offseason hype surrounding the Cleveland Browns finally looking like a Super Bowl contender thanks to Odell Beckham Jr. joining an offense already loaded with talent, Week 1 couldn’t have been any worse for this team.
It would have been one thing if the Browns came up just short at home since the Tennessee Titans are considered one of the early Super Bowl contenders in the AFC, but Cleveland losing by 30 points in front of their own fans was just embarrassing to witness.
Adding Beckham to the mix on offense with other reliable talent such as Jarvis Landry was supposed to make Baker Mayfield’s job much easier to handle, but the pressure is on for Monday after a disappointing outing against Tennessee.
Instead of lighting up the Titans’ defense to help the Browns start the new season on a hot note, Mayfield only tossed one touchdown pass, and finished with three interceptions, showing this team may be more of a work in progress than football fans realized.
Facing the Jets on the road in front of a national audience will be another big test for Mayfield to prove the young quarterback does in fact have what it takes to live up to the hype.
Otherwise, the questions are going to begin to rise over whether Mayfield is the right answer for Cleveland, even if that sounds ridiculous to consider this early in the year.