The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Fans are taking their cue from Mayfield
The team is following Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield and now Browns fans are taking their cue from him, too.
The days of the Browns routinely selling out home games are long gone — just as the glory days are long gone — but the game between the Browns and Bengals on Dec. 23 at FirstEnergy Stadium is sold out, in large part because Mayfield challenged fans after the Browns beat the Carolina Panthers, 26-20, at home two weeks ago.
“We would love to have more fan support,” Mayfield said after the game. “Today was cold, I get it. But having more people, especially at our last home game coming up, we would love to have more people in the stands cheering for us because we feed off of the energy.”
The Browns announced on Dec. 21 the game with the Bengals is a sellout and then Mayfield and the Browns put out a video thanking fans for their support.
“What’s up y’all? Baker Mayfield here,” Mayfield said in the video. “So I just found this Sunday’s game is sold out. I appreciate you guys. I know I called you out. I thank you guys for buying all the tickets, being there for the support. I appreciate it a lot.
“So excited to see you on Sunday, but it’s not just about being there. You’ve got to be loud, too. We want the energy to be there. We want it to be very exciting for this last home game, finishing off the season on the right note and I appreciate you guys. Thank you very much.”
The game-day forecast calls for a high of 41 degrees with a 20 percent chance of rain.
The Browns are 4-2-1 at home and 6-7-1 overall. And though their playoff hopes are over the Titans won on Dec. 22, they still have much to play for: They will sweep the Bengals for the first time since 2002 if they win, win seven games for the first time since 2014 and keep alive their chances for their first winning season since they were 10-6 in 2007.
Winning would also mean beating former Browns head coach Hue Jackson for the second time in four weeks. Twelve days after being fired by the Browns on Oct. 29, Jackson rejoined the staff of Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati.
“We’re definitely motivated,” Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry said. “Any chance I have to compete, I’m excited about it. As far as Hue coming back, I really don’t have anything to say about it. He’s on the other side, now. That’s how I look at it.”
Just as he called out the fans, Mayfield delivered a message to his teammates that basically warned them not to coast through the last two games. After hosting the Bengals, the Browns close the season in Baltimore on Dec. 30.
“We want to win our last two games,” Mayfield said. “If the guys on this team don’t want to do that, then you can get out. That’s quite frankly how I feel. We have a lot of guys that are playing on their contract year. That also doesn’t need to be a distraction.
“You need to go out and do your job. The best thing that we can do right now is play winning football. Right now, the Cincinnati Bengals is our goal.”
No one is going to pack it in and then look Baker Mayfield in the eye.