Baker Mayfield Pays Plenty of Compliments to Patrick Mahomes
Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes have a history. And by history, I mean the two participated in one of the greatest quarterback battles in college football history.
Oklahoma beat Texas Tech 66-59 back in 2016, and the Mayfield-Mahomes combination went bonkers. The two totaled 1,279 yards passing, 12 touchdowns and only one interception. They also added in 104 yards and two scores on the ground.
Mayfield will once again take on Mahomes, this time in the NFL playoffs. The Cleveland Browns will go on the road to take on the Kansas City Chiefs at 3:05 p.m. ET on Sunday. It isn't the first time these two have played since that epic game in 2016, however.
The Chiefs beat the Browns 37-21 in 2018, but the quarterback battle didn't quite yield the same prolific results. Sure, it was still a good game for both of them. There was 672 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions produced that day.
But that game didn't have the same meaning as the one we'll watch this Sunday.
With the game looming, Mayfield had plenty of good things to say about his upcoming quarterback opponent. Talking to reporters earlier this week, the former No. 1 overall pick talked about why Mahomes is the NFL's best quarterback.
"For starters, you could go into the physical attributes that Pat has – he has everything you could possibly want," Mayfield told reporters this week, via CBS Sports. "His arm strength is unbelievable, but just the different arm angles and things he is able to do – I know people talk about his no-look passes and all of that – but to be able to change his arm angle, you can see why he was such an incredible athlete in baseball and basketball, as well.
"He is just able to do things that a lot of quarterbacks can't do. He sat out pretty much the whole first rookie year and just took everything in. Patrick is extremely smart, intelligent picking up that system. You can just tell guys want to play for Patrick, but when he is on top of his game like he is mentally, that pushes those guys even more."
Not only was it the right approach for Mayfield to take, it was also the correct answer. Mahomes has been nothing short of incredible since taking over as the starting quarterback prior to the 2018 season. He's a reigning Super Bowl champion and league MVP.
Mayfield has started to turn things on after a prolonged slump, but he'll need his "A" game if he wants to get another victory over Mahomes. It's been awhile since 2016, after all.
Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.