CLEVELAND, Ohio — Baker Mayfield will get his first game reps of the preseason on Sunday night when the Browns travel to Atlanta to play the Falcons. Kickoff of their preseason finale is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern.
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The Browns are 2-0 in the preseason following a 17-13 win vs. the Giants on Aug. 22. The Falcons are looking for their first win of the preseason as they lost their most recent game, 37-17, to the Dolphins on Aug. 21.
Who: Cleveland Browns at Atlanta Falcons.
When: Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021.
Time: 8 p.m. Eastern.
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta (71,000).
TV: NBC.
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Latest line: Browns -6.
Announcers: Al Michael, Cris Collinsworth and Michelle Tafoya.
Read some of what cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot wrote about why she believes Mayfield shouldn’t play on Sunday night.
Kevin Stefanski’s decision to start Baker Mayfield and select other starters in Sunday night’s preseason finale in Atlanta flies in the face of his Browns training camp theme for 2021: Keep the veterans healthy at all costs.
Stefanski rested Mayfield and most of the rest of the starters in the first two preseason games, in Jacksonville and at home against the Giants. It was the right thing to do, considering they didn’t lose any key players to season-ending injuries like some teams did.
The Browns discovered last season that they could go 11-5 and advance to the AFC Divisional round with no preseason games, and they erred on the side of caution this camp. It was the prudent decision, and they now have a little more than two weeks to ramp up for the Chiefs with no catastrophic injuries.
They’ve come this far, so why risk it now? The Browns have gotten excellent work done in camp, including in two joint practices against the Giants. They’ve also gotten a ton of situational work done in practice, and still have more than two weeks to go.
There’s only one thing that can happen if Mayfield doesn’t play in Atlanta: He emerges unscathed. There are two things that can happen if he plays: He comes out fine or he gets hurt. Mayfield is so durable and has such a good offensive line that he’ll probably come out with nary a scratch.
But all it takes is one defender trying to make a name for himself or one missed block for him to go down. He’ll probably only play a few series, but even that’s too much considering that they were so successful last season without meaningless exhibition games.
Still, Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt revealed on the team’s in-house radio show Cleveland Browns Daily what the plan is for Mayfield and why they believe it’s important to play him.
“You’d love to have two long drives for touchdowns, that’s what you’re looking for ideally,’’ Van Pelt said. “We’re looking for clean operation, no pre-snap penalties. Good mechanics, see some third downs, hopefully get into the red zone a little bit, and be a good dress rehearsal for him.’’
The thinking, Van Pelt said, is to give Mayfield some live action before the Chiefs game Sept. 12.
“No question, there’s nothing that replaces game reps for sure,’’ he said. “Hopefully we can get him out there, have a nice, clean drive or two and then get him out and get ready for Kansas City.”
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