Browns Playoffs: 3 players who need to step up against the Steelers

The obligatory Baker Mayfield selection

It’s pretty obvious by now that you know Baker Mayfield will be on these types of lists. Mayfield has had to prove something ever since the end of last year, which honestly most people feel he’s done. He can play quarterback in the NFL, he can play winning football in the NFL, and he can win you games on his own in the NFL. He’s checked off every box possible and he did it while playing some of the best defines the league has had to offer this year.

The problem comes down to something he can’t control, his team is getting gutted week after week by an invisible illness that seemingly looks to wreak havoc for as long as the Browns are playing. This means that any game he has on Sunday will be one where he and the Browns go into short-handed.

If Mayfield can lead the team to success and even a win without two of their best offensive linemen, one of their most well known wide receivers, and lord knows what else could happen before Sunday, then Mayfield would have proven himself to be on a level that few players in the NFL are even on; the level reserved for quarterbacks with the ability to overcome the odds against the best of the best. It’ll be a hard task, and one that most people don’t assume he’ll be able to do, but if he does, oh boy. That will be something to see and would be enough of a performance on its own to warrant the fifth-year option or just a flat out new deal.