The list of accolades — those that are already accomplished and those still within striking distance — grows bigger each week. Many of them circle back to Mayfield, who has thrown 13 touchdowns and two interceptions since Week 7.
His hot throwing arm didn't quite lead to a win Monday. But without Mayfield's dominance, the Browns wouldn't have taken things down to the last second against their AFC North rival.
"He fought, just like everybody else," running back Nick Chubb said. "We follow Baker's lead."
Mayfield's success speaks to how well the rest of the offense has played, too. The pass game wouldn't be as efficient without a steady and often devastating output from the run game, which is ranked third in the NFL.
And neither of those departments would be as strong without the offensive line, which has bullied its way through defenses all season and has established itself as one of the best units in the league. Offensive playmakers have praised the big men all season, and Mayfield added to that praise as he reflected Wednesday on his seasonal growth.
"I love those boys up front," he said. "We have great guys. We have a great group of men in there, and I appreciate them so much. (They're) extremely focused and they play with each other right now."
The pieces have all come together for the offense, and no piece has arguably shined brighter than Mayfield over the last month. That's what coach Kevin Stefanski was expecting after he met Mayfield and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt for a deep dive into Mayfield's first half of the season at the Week 9 bye week. At that point, Mayfield had 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions and no games with over 300 passing yards.
In the five games since the bye, he's thrown eight touchdowns and one interception, which came Monday after Ravens linebacker Tyus Bowser stopped a laser pass with one hand and made a difficult catch, and has thrown for over 300 yards in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
Those late-season performances are what define NFL quarterbacks, and if it weren't for the heroics from Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and a 55-yard field goal from Justin Tucker in the final seconds, Mayfield might've been the player of the game.
"Baker kept battling and was leading the team," Stefanski said in his postgame interview. "We were moving the ball."
But Mayfield has already moved on. He's focused on stacking another quality performance against the New York Giants and inch even closer to history — a win would put him even closer to becoming the quarterback behind the first Browns team to make the playoffs since 2002.
That achievement is better than any individual marker Mayfield has hit this season.
To him, that's the only one that matters.
"We have a big picture mindset," Mayfield said, "but the singular focus is just so vital right now to get into the postseason playoff race."
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Baker Mayfield: 'Playing with confidence is where I'm at my best' - clevelandbrowns.com
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