Baker Mayfield, Browns Top Lamar Jackson, Ravens 40-25 in AFC North Clash

All isn't necessarily fixed with the Cleveland Browns offense, but it took a big step in the right direction Sunday.  

Baker Mayfield threw over 300 yards for the second time this season and Nick Chubb rushed for three touchdowns, leading the Browns to a 40-25 win over the Baltimore Ravens.

Lamar Jackson had his worst passing game of the season but continued to make an impact, tallying three touchdowns. 

The Browns entered the week as one of the NFL's biggest disappointments and were coming off a frustrating loss to the Los Angeles Rams that featured a number of blunders and questionable coaching decisions. With the Ravens fresh off a competitive loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, it appeared the Browns were staring at a 1-3 start.

Instead, they built their offense around quick throws to get the ball out of Mayfield's hands (and into Jarvis Landry's) and Chubb churning out big runs—particularly in the second half. 

Notable Stats

Browns

QB Baker Mayfield: 20-of-30 passing, 342 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

RB Nick Chubb: 20 carries, 165 yards, 3 TD (3 receptions, 18 yards)

WR Jarvis Landry: 8 receptions, 167 yards

WR Odell Beckham Jr.: 2 receptions, 20 yards

LB Joe Schobert: 17 tackles, 1 sack

Ravens

QB Lamar Jackson: 24-of-34 passing, 247 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT (9 carries, 66 yards)

RB Mark Ingram: 12 carries, 71 yards (1 reception, 0 yards)

WR Marquise Brown: 4 receptions, 22 yards

TE Mark Andrews: 4 receptions, 31 yards, 1 TD

Browns Finally Find Offensive Blueprint

Through the first three weeks, the Browns ran a series of plays that seemingly took too long to develop and left Mayfield taking heat from the pass rush or by making bad decisions down the field. Cleveland flipped the script Sunday, opening with a series of short passes and quick reads, designed to get the ball out of Mayfield's hands.

The result was by far the best, most in-rhythm performance of the Browns season. Mayfield and Jarvis Landry connected eight times for 167 yards before the wideout left with a concussion, with most of their damage coming in the first half. The quick passing game came at the expense of Beckham, who had two receptions for 20 yards on seven targets, but should be the blueprint of how the Browns could look moving forward.

Of course, Chubb going off for 165 rushing yards helps. More than half of those yards came on an 88-yard scamper in the fourth quarter that sealed the game, and we're going to go out on a limb and say that's not replicable week to week.

But the combination of balance and quick passes should be followed moving forward.

Lamar Jackson's Weaknesses Showing

For all of his improvements, it's unlikely Jackson is ever going to be a passer you want driving you down the field with time running down when you're down a pair of touchdowns. Jackson had three opportunities in the fourth quarter to drive the Ravens down the field while down a pair of scores.

The result: turnover on downs after a bad fourth-down throw, interception, interception.

There's few who would argue that Jackson is anything but a net positive for the Ravens offense. He's a dynamic runner, a vastly improved passer and has made more progress from Year 1 to Year 2 than could have reasonably been expected.

But the Ravens are still a team that will occasionally choose to run the ball on 3rd-and-16 rather than put the ball in Jackson's hands. There's a reason for that—and it might ultimately limit the Ravens' ceiling if they don't start trusting him more.

What's Next?

The Browns travel to San Francisco to play the 49ers on Monday night. The Ravens play the Steelers in Pittsburgh next Sunday.