Browns QB Baker Mayfield on critics: 'I don't give a damn what they say'

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield became an easy target for national and local critics for the second time this season following a woeful performance in Sunday's humiliating 38-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As Jake Trotter explained for ESPN, Mayfield's QBR of 5.5 for that outing was the third-worst produced by any signal-caller this year. The third-year pro threw an avoidable early pick-six that seemed to put the contest out of reach before the end of the first quarter, and neither he nor the rest of the offense recovered from that setback. 

While Mayfield was dealing with a rib and chest injury that limited him throughout the week, some pointed to his struggles at Pittsburgh and in the Week 1 blowout defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens as proof that the Browns may be better off with Case Keenum, who worked under head coach Kevin Stefanski while with the Minnesota Vikings, starting for this Sunday's showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals. 

"I don't give a damn what they say," Mayfield defiantly said on Wednesday. "We know we can be better. I know I can be better. The outside noise doesn't matter. They get paid to talk and we get paid to do our work. So that's how it's going to be handled."

"We're eager to get back to work," Mayfield added. "Fix the problems we know are within our control."

Mayfield shined in the 35-30 win over the Bengals in Cleveland back on Sept. 17. The 25-year-old completed 16-of-23 passes (69.6%) for 219 yards and two touchdowns, and he finished the outing with a season-high 98.4 QBR.