Browns' Baker Mayfield After Patriots Loss: 'Still Think We Can Turn It Around'

Baker Mayfield isn't losing hope after a 27-13 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday dropped the Cleveland Browns to 2-5 to open the 2019 NFL season.

"I still think we can turn it around," Mayfield told reporters after the game.

The Browns quarterback added they "know exactly what's wrong," alluding to the team's turnovers and penalties.

Mayfield may not have lost hope, but Cleveland will basically need a miracle in order to reach the postseason. According to Pro Football Reference, 212 teams between 1970 and 2018 have gone 2-5 to open the year. Seven of those teams made the playoffs.

On its own, Sunday's loss wasn't too surprising because the Patriots were 7-0 and had a defense that's on pace to be historically great. The Browns gained 310 yards against that unit and might have been in position to pull off the upset were it not for their three turnovers.

At this point, Mayfield's words are ringing a little hollow.

Back in September, he told reporters Browns players wouldn't forget the skeptics who "threw [them] in the trash."

Cleveland was coming off a 40-25 win over the Baltimore Ravens when Mayfield said that. The team responded with three straight defeats.

The Browns had a minus-six turnover differential, 28th in the NFL, prior to Sunday, and they've committed the most penalties (70) in the league.

It's not enough for Mayfield to identify what's going wrong, especially when he's responsible for a lot of the turnover problem (a league-high 12 interceptions).

Cleveland's performance against the equally listless Denver Broncos in Week 9 will show whether it can actually make tangible progress toward solving its biggest issues.