–Quarterback Baker Mayfield has thrown at least one touchdown pass in each of his first 10 starts. He is the first first-year starting quarterback to do that since Kurt Warner did it with the St. Louis Rams in 1999.
“We just need to keep giving him time,” running back Nick Chubb said. “If we protect him, then he’ll make a play for us and get the ball where it needs to be. When our receivers are catching them extremely well and you put those pieces together, then we create wins and that’s what we’re doing.”
Mayfield’s 19 touchdown passes are the most ever by a Browns rookie.
–The Browns tied the Steelers in the season opener because a field-goal attempt was blocked. They lost to the Saints, 21-18, when Zane Gonzalez (no longer with the Browns) missed four kicks. They lost to the Raiders in overtime in part because what appeared to be a first-down run late in regulation was reversed and they lost to the Buccaneers on a 59-yard field goal in overtime.
“You can’t waste your time thinking about those things,” interim head coach Gregg Williams said. “You can’t change that. The only thing you have an impact on is what’s up next.”
Next for the Browns is a game with the Broncos Saturday night in Denver.
–The Browns have had only two winning seasons at home since returning to the NFL in 1999. They are 4-2-1 at FirstEnergy Stadium this season with a home game Dec. 23 with the Bengals remaining. They were 7-1 at home in 2007. They finished 4-4 at home in 2001, 2005, 2012 and 2014.
–Browns defensive end Myles Garrett has 12.5 sacks, one behind AFC leader Von Miller of the Denver Broncos. Garrett’s goal is to lead the league in sacks and be Defensive Player of the Year, but team goals are more important to him. The surge the Browns are experiencing is a sharp contrast to what Garrett experienced as a rookie when the Browns were 0-16.
“Everybody loves winning,” he said. “It’s a little different for us because things have been a little negative the last couple of years, but that’s in the past and we’re on a different path now. We’re just trying to carve a name for ourselves.”
Garrett’s 19.5 career sacks are the most by a Browns player in his first two seasons.
BY THE NUMBERS: 11 – Consecutive losses for the Browns against the Broncos. They last beat the Broncos, 30-29, in 1990 in Denver.
