Deshaun Watson has no more excuses thanks to Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield just took any excuses the Cleveland Browns and Deshaun Watson had if they struggle.

Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield did the near-impossible on Thursday night. With just two days of practice, Mayfield led the Los Angeles Rams to a late-game comeback, involving two touchdown drives in the final six minutes that resulted in the go-ahead score. Not only did Mayfield lead the comeback, but he defied critics by throwing a game-tying touchdown with just seconds left on the clock, doing the unthinkable to many.

One extra point later and the Rams took the lead.

Mayfield ended up in Los Angeles after a wild season. He was traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Carolina Panthers right before the preseason started but things didn’t go his way. His head coach got fired, he got injured, and the Panthers’ offense ended up falling apart, and when it did, everyone blamed Mayfield

So Mayfield ended up getting demoted to the third string, gets waived, and ends up in Los Angeles. Just two days after arriving, Mayfield leads a comeback. Not only did he lead a comeback after just two days of arriving, but he did so with one of the most complicated playbooks in the league. His intelligence and ability to remember information was a huge factor in this, and even his staunch critics like Colin Cowherd praised Mayfield for his performance. A performance that would’ve been better than it actually was had it not been for several of his new teammates fumbling the ball and having untimely holding calls.

For him to do what he did, with such a complicated playbook, and doing so with a brand new roster in just two days, has absolutely obliterated any excuses the embattled Deshaun Watson and the Browns may have for the rest of the season.

Watson has no excuses to not perform well on Sunday.

Deshaun Watson has no more leeway after Baker Mayfield’s performance

Watson’s got no more excuses. He practiced with the Browns early on. He’s been practicing with the Browns for a few weeks now. He should have been doing his drills, working on his craft, and keeping himself in shape while suspended. We were all willing to give Watson time to find his sea legs. We all believed that it would take weeks for Watson to get into a rhythm with the team.

Then Mayfield shows up after barely doing anything over the last month of the season, and recontextualizes how quarterbacks should play on short notice. Either Mayfield is a better quarterback than we know, and Freddie Kitchens, Kevin Stefanski, Matt Rhule, and Steve Wilks severely held him back, or Watson is capable of emulating Mayfield.

One has to be true.

It’s important to remember that Watson has been in Cleveland since April. He’s been with the team since then and practicing with them since his arrival He returned back to practice several weeks before his Texans start. It’s not like he arrived in Houston to play the game with next to zero preparation.

Watson just laid an egg. Clearly, the situation got to him, and it’s fair to say his mental toughness is in doubt. Having his accusers there, having Janice McNair (wife of Texans owner Bob McNair) turn her back on Watson, being booed, and knowing he has to live up to an impossible contract all affected him.

Maybe it’s time we start wondering if Watson is emotionally and mentally mature enough, just like so many did with Mayfield. After all, both men are polarizing quarterbacks, both men had varying degrees of preparedness in their first game with a new team. One played very badly, one played very well.

It just wasn’t who we thought would do either.

Now, Mayfield, someone everyone has dunked on for the past year, just did the unthinkable. If Watson truly was an upgrade, he’s going to have to outplay Mayfield on Sunday. He might be able to do just that. He might not.

But if he doesn’t, he, Stefanski and so many others are going to have to start fielding questions. Like why did Mayfield look better with the Rams in two days than he did with Stefanski in two years, and why is Watson a “better” quarterback not able to do the same thing the “inferior” quarterback did with significantly more practice time over the last nine months?

Those aren’t going to be fun questions to answer.