The Cleveland Browns escaped with a 13-10 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Baker Mayfield didn’t have a great day, completing 16 of 35 passes for 186 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. But then again he’s also playing through an injured shoulder and other health issues. But that hasn’t stopped Cleveland fans from letting him know their displeasure.
After being booed by Browns fans, Mayfield walked off the field “with his head down and a stern look on his face without celebrating the victory with any of his teammates or acknowledging any of the players on the opposing team,” according to Cleveland.com.
Meanwhile, Mayfield’s wife Emily took to Instagram and shared a rather eye-opening post on her Stories. Featuring a picture of Baker, it read “No one better say anything bad about @bakermayfield after this game. I don’t think I’ve seen toughness like this in a while. Maybe the rest of our team should take the hint and get tougher.”
At first, it seemed as though Emily had written this herself and it was about to set off an explosion inside that locker room. However, it was soon clarified that she had shared the caption that someone else had written, and either she didn’t look closely enough at what the rest of it said or she agreed with it without thinking about how it would go.
As someone else pointed out, Mayfield tends to share anything related to her husband and the Browns. She also took to Twitter afterward to try to explain that as well.
https://twitter.com/emilywmayfield6/status/1462644045256302597?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1462644045256302597%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flarrybrownsports.com%2Ffootball%2Fbaker-mayfields-wife-emily-addresses-viral-instagram-post%2F587564
“I also love the guys on this team. I respect every single one of them,” said Emily. “Make a story out of whatever you want; I’m NEVER hating on them. They put it out there every week, many have injuries no one ever hears about, and they’re all tough as hell!”
Of course, the damage was already done and Browns fans and NFL folks took to social media to respond to the implications of the Instagram post.
It’s not the first time she’s posted some strong words on social media to defend her husband. Back in October, she posted something with similar vibes to this latest Instagram post. It chastised Browns fans for not appreciating Mayfield and demanded more support for him.
She’s not the only Mayfield family member to get a little too active on social media either. Right before Odell Beckham, Jr. left the team and signed with the Rams, Mayfield’s father shared a video to Instagram that pointed out “every missed opportunity Odell was open” and not targeted by Mayfield.
Whether this latest post was done purposefully or on accident, it’s clear that the Mayfields need to calm down trying to defend Baker via social media. Every time they do it, it tends to make things worse. And if the Browns fail to make the playoffs and things don’t improve for Mayfield on the field, it could be part of the reason he isn’t in Cleveland for much longer.
[Cleveland.com, NY Post, Barrett Media]