Baker Mayfield's Comeback Falls Short as Jameis Winston, Buccaneers Beat Browns

Despite blowing two different 14-point leads in the second half, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended their three-game losing streak by escaping with a 26-23 overtime victory over the Cleveland Browns in Week 7.   

After firing defensive coordinator Mike Smith on Monday, the Bucs played an inspired game on that side of the ball. They held Cleveland's offense to 305 total yards, a vast improvement over the 440 yards opposing teams were averaging against them in the first five games. 

There were still problematic elements for the Bucs in the win. Jameis Winston turned the ball over three times and was sacked four times. 

Tampa Bay's special teams gave up a 32-yard punt return to Jabrill Peppers that set up Cleveland's game-tying touchdown on a pass from Baker Mayfield to Jarvis Landry on the following play with 2:28 remaining in regulation.

After missing a game-winning kick at the end of regulation, Chandler Catanzaro redeemed himself by making a 59-yard attempt in overtime to get the Buccaneers back in the win column. 

Jameis Winston Is Holding Bucs Back

It typically takes NFL teams a long time before they can admit to themselves that a first-round quarterback—especially a No. 1 overall pick—isn't going to be the star they were hoping for. 

JaMarcus Russell is the only quarterback drafted first overall who lasted fewer than four seasons with the team that selected him since 1967. 

Winston has made it into his fourth season with the Buccaneers, but it's time for the franchise to acknowledge he isn't going to be the long-term solution at quarterback. 

Just taking into account his in-game performance—his off-field exploits are an entirely different story—Winston isn't showing any signs of progress. His final stat line against the Browns included 365 passing yards, one rushing touchdown and those three turnovers. 

Winston continues to try forcing passes into windows that aren't there, such as this one intended for O.J. Howard that went right into the hands of Christian Kirksey:

There were flashes of brilliance from Winston in this game, without a doubt. He accounted for 55 yards on the Bucs' final drive of regulation to set up Catanzaro's field-goal attempt.

Once the game went into overtime, the duality of Winston was on full display yet again. The bad version of Winston came back during Tampa Bay's first drive when he threw a pass right to Browns linebacker Jamie Collins:

Facing a 3rd-and-29 on the next drive, Winston completed a 14-yard pass to DeSean Jackson that set up Catanzaro's game-winning kick. 

In just two games this season coming into Sunday, Winston had four interceptions and had two fumbles—both were recovered by Tampa Bay—on just 61 passing attempts.

Tampa Bay's defense came into Week 7 allowing an NFL-worst 34.6 points per game. The best thing a quarterback can do to hide a weakness on his team is protect the ball, but Winston has proved he doesn't do this. 

Winston has 50 interceptions in 48 NFL games. Plenty of historically great quarterbacks were able to get away with a high number of turnovers.

Brett Favre threw more picks than anyone else in NFL history (336), but he got away with it for nearly two decades because his ability to thread the needle led to a lot of spectacular plays. 

Winston hasn't figured out a way to marry his gunslinger style with an ability to protect the ball. Until he does, the Buccaneers will be an inconsistent team that struggles to be more than a .500 team in their best seasons. 

Baker Mayfield Will End Browns' QB Curse

Unlike the Buccaneers' quarterback situation, Cleveland should continue to be ecstatic about what Baker Mayfield has brought to the franchise. 

Mayfield's overall stat line from Week 7 isn't going to stand out. He went 23-of-34 for 215 yards and two touchdowns, but there was a clear adjustment made that shows how impressive his day turned out. 

After being stymied by Tampa Bay's defense in the first half, Mayfield got the Browns back in the game with this excellent touch pass to David Njoku in the back corner of the end zone:

Trailing 23-16 midway through the fourth quarter, Mayfield scrambled for a 35-yard gain on 2nd-and-26 to pick up a first down. Even though that drive ultimately stalled at the goal line, Cleveland tied the game on its next drive when Jarvis Landry caught a 16-yard touchdown to force overtime. 

Mayfield came into Sunday completing just 55.6 percent of his attempts with more interceptions (five) than touchdown passes (four), but a closer look at Cleveland's offense shows he's been better than that. 

Per Pro Football Focus' John Kosko, Mayfield's 9.8 percent drop rate is by far the highest rate in the NFL. Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles ranks second at 7.2 percent. He noted:

"Mayfield has lost at least 182 yards (NFL-high) due to drops. Also, he also has an average depth of target of 11.9 on said drops, and a whopping 75% of them were targeted beyond the sticks. These drops don't include plays such as the interception against Baltimore where Rashard Higgins ran the wrong route or the deep hitch to Antonio Callaway on 3rd & 9 in the fourth quarter in the same game when Callaway failed to secure a perfect ball before getting it knocked out by the Ravens defender."

When the Browns caught fire in the second half against Tampa Bay, Mayfield had 172 passing yards. He's already established himself as a dynamic playmaker who is capable of making everyone around him better. 

As long as the rest of Cleveland's skill-position players aren't dropping passes, the offense showed its potential to strike quickly and in bunches on Sunday with 21 points in the second half.

The Browns have been searching for a franchise quarterback since returning to the NFL in 1999. It's been a long and arduous process, but there should be no doubt now that Mayfield is the answer they were hoping for when he was selected first overall in April. 

What's Next?

The Browns will look to avenge their Week 1 tie when they travel to Heinz Field to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. ET. The Buccaneers will continue the AFC North portion of their schedule against the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. ET.