On his bye week:
“It was good. Much needed rest so it was good.”
On what he did during the bye week:
“I went to Arizona for a few days and then went out to Austin to see my family and hang out at the house.”
On how much the week off helped him physically:
“Quite a bit to be honest with you. I have not had any major setbacks the past few weeks and then having another week off. Looking forward to keep getting better as the weeks go on.”
On Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Andrew Berry’s comment that Mayfield will ‘play his best football in the next five games’ and why he also believes that:
“Anytime you can kind of step back, kind of re-evaluate everything, come back with a fresh mindset and realize where we are right now and just have that one week at a time mentality. It is what it is so that is where our heads are, and that is where I play my best.”
On if the Browns head into Week 14 against the Ravens with a different mindset than two weeks ago:
“I am not going to get into specific gameplan stuff, but we just have to be better overall. They are a great team. I hit on it after the game when we played them. If we do not capitalize on their mistakes, they are going to capitalize on ours so we have to take care of the ball, we have to do all of the little things right, capitalize on field position and turnovers and just go into it with the mindset that we need to do our job at a very high level.”
On if there is a sense of relief that it is December and the Browns are still in the playoff race despite a 6-6 record:
“Right now, we are just looking at it as a one-game season at a time. Everything that we can accomplish is still in front of us so if we handle it correctly, that will happen that way. Just have to do so accordingly.”
On how the Browns offense will adjust if TEs David Njoku and Harrison Bryant are unavailable this week:
“We are going to have to adapt a little bit. Obviously, we are going to have to have some guys step up and make more plays, but nothing that nobody is incapable of doing. We are going to ask some things of guys who have not had a huge role yet, but just kind of move on and do your job.”
On if the Browns offense can make improvements coming off the bye week, similar to last year, after not scoring as many points as desired in recent weeks:
“We absolutely are looking to overall be better on offense, score more points, convert on third downs, be better overall in those critical situations and capitalize when our defense is playing like they have been.”
On if there was a need to deconstruct the Browns offense during the bye week:
“Anytime you are on a bye week – this goes for every team around the league – you do a self-scout and kind of look at the bigger picture of what you are doing well, what you are not doing well, tendencies and all of that. It is not necessarily deconstructing as it is just overanalyzing it, seeing what you are good at, trying to expand on that and fix the corrections you need to.”
On if there are specific elements the Browns offense identified during the self-scout for the Ravens game:
“There were plays to be made – that is for sure – but then situationally, we need to expect that they are going to bring pressure, and we need to have better answers. Those little things make a huge difference when you are in a tight game like that that we just did not do.”
On if his reference to having better answers for the Ravens defense is more specific to when they had more players in the box or their pressure packages:
“Both. Both. They are going to bring pressure regardless. In some looks, they are going to show it and then not bring it. You have to have answers built in and just react to it.”
On how Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey’s injury impacts Baltimore’s defense and the Browns offense’s gameplan:
“He is an extremely key component for that defense and has been for a while now. You never wish injury upon somebody. That is a huge part of their defense, a playmaker who kind of moves around, is able to do a lot of things and is very versatile. We are going to have to see how they adapt and how they are calling the plays based on him not being in there. Obviously, wish him the best and a speedy recovery.”
On if there is a potential the Ravens defense is not as aggressive this week without Humphrey compared to two weeks ago:
“I would not go there. They are good at their defense. No matter who is in there, Wink (Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale) is going to call it, call those plays and call those pressures and expect his guys to execute it.”
On if playing the Ravens in back-to-back games is helpful:
“It is something unlike anything I have ever had before coming off of the bye and playing the same opponent. You are watching a ton of film. You do not want to take that for granted, but we need to know our opponent, which it is a division opponent so we should already. It is definitely different. We need to go in there with the same mentality – it is going to be a physical game – and have our best game.”
On if he feels good from a health standpoint for the final five regular season games:
“Yeah, I feel confident with where I am, where we are and where we are headed.”
On if there is a sense of a renewed energy coming off of the bye week with all of the team’s goals ahead of it during the final five regular season games:
“Yeah, that is kind of the mentality that we went into it the last two weeks was we still had everything in front of us. Now, it is crunch time. Everybody [externally] is talking about playoffs, but we need to have that singular focus, block out everything else and realize that we need to take care of business one day and one week at a time.”
On raising awareness for Folds of Honor and the Boys and Girls Club during My Cause My Cleats:
“Military and supporting children, those are two things that I am extremely passionate about. I can’t exactly pick one and feel good about leaving the other out. I am trying to help out as much as I can with things that I am truly passionate about. Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Ohio does an unbelievable job, and anytime I can support the military in any fashion, I am going to try to.”
On if he knows who will receive his Heisman Trophy vote this year:
“I can’t tell you that (laughter).”