The Cleveland Browns answered a lot of questions on Sunday, with an impressive 40-25 win over the division rival Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore had looked the part of a locked-in AFC North favorite before the game, but Baker Mayfield and company made a statement Sunday.
Mayfield had what was pretty clearly his best game of the season, completing 20-of-30 throws for 342 yards and a touchdown. The Browns are 2-2 with the win, and the brash quarterback took the opportunity to call out those who “threw them in the trash” after the tough start.
The game had a pretty distinct Oklahoma flavor overall. Mayfield and kicker Austin Seibert each contributed to the scoring outburst for the Browns, while tight end Mark Andrews, wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, and Orlando Brown Jr. all play key roles for the Ravens.
All five were teammates at OU, and have been selected in the last two NFL Drafts.
After the game, the five Sooners got together for a group photo. Mayfield couldn’t help but throw the “Horns Down,” which has taken on so much bizarre controversy over in the Big 12, in the picture.
Does this 💍 a bell? pic.twitter.com/cZexvdfCA2
— BigSeib43 (@austinseibert1) October 1, 2019
You have to wonder how Ravens Texas alumni Earl Thomas and DeShon Elliott, or the Browns’ Malik Jefferson feel about this.
Either way, it is not surprising. Horns Down has been around for years now, and perhaps no Texas rival has enjoyed using it like Mayfield, who has never shied away from making enemies.
After the Big 12 has moved to legislate against Horns Down as an on-field taunt, Baker Mayfield called the league “soft.” Luckily for him, the conference has no authority over what he does on the NFL gridiron.