Baker Mayfield's debut with the Panthers carried an air of additional importance -- and the first half of it was putrid.
Fortunately for Carolina and its new quarterback, it's only one game. As Mayfield said after the Panthers' Week 1 loss to his former team, "Everybody made this out to be the Super Bowl, but despite what everybody is going to make this, there are 16 more games."
The next contest in that group of 16 arrives Sunday in the form of a trip to the Meadowlands to face the Giants. If the Panthers hope to avoid an 0-2 start, they'll need to be better in the first 30 minutes of regulation.
The entire Carolina offense struggled in the first two quarters of the Panthers' opening loss to the Browns, gaining the vast majority of its 95 first-half yards on the Panthers' lone scoring drive before the break. By the time Browns kicker Cade York's 58-yard, game-winning field goal passed through the uprights, it became clear that the hole Carolina dug for itself was simply too deep to overcome.
"The preparation, everything we did leading up to it was spot on. We just didn't execute," Mayfield said Wednesday, via the team's official site. "Laid an egg in the first half and fell behind, and against a team that runs like that, it's hard to come back. So the response has been exactly what we want. Everyone has been extremely critical of themselves, leaders have put ownership on themselves, and also, at the same time, players aren't losing their heads. Just go to work. It's another day; play the next play, fix the mistakes, and go get them."
The Panthers' second-half performance, however, is what's motivating Mayfield and his still-new Carolina teammates as they get set to face the Giants on Sunday.
"(The fourth-quarter rally), that's the potential for all of our guys to look at, just everybody doing their job," Mayfield said. "Realizing even in some not-so-great looks, we were able to execute our plays and do it at a high level. Like I said, it was two completely different teams first half and second half, so everybody do your job. Focus on that, play the next play ... and realizing we can be a very good team and confident in that."
In that second half, Mayfield completed 6 of 8 passes for 134 yards. Seventy-five of those yards came on a touchdown pass to Robbie Chosen that instantly transformed a game that seemed just out of Carolina's reach. And that scoring completion came after Mayfield led an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with his own rushing touchdown -- and a celebratory football fired into the wall of Bank of America Stadium.
In what seemed like a flash, Mayfield regained the confidence, composure and clutch play that once endeared him to countless Browns fans. He nearly did enough to take down his old team for some sweet Week 1 revenge, but Carolina will have to accept the exciting final quarter as a consolation prize -- and perhaps a sign of things to come.
"I have to come in with confidence. Get these guys to believe in it," Mayfield said. "Be a great leader, and get them to know we're very capable of winning and winning a lot of games. It's about focusing on the next thing. If you harp on the negative, it'll always creep back into your mind. So believe in yourself and focus on the next play."
Mayfield's next set of opportunities comes Sunday against another team featuring a former draft classmate of his -- running back Saquon Barkley. Unlike last week, though, the build-up thankfully won't be the same for the Panthers.
"The message to all our guys has been, let's catch our breath, let's just all these little things, let's play each play," head coach Matt Rhule said. "I want to see (Mayfield) go out there, his first game's out of the way here as a Carolina Panther, all the hubbub around the game is out of the way; let's just go play ball.
"I think the team has that attitude right now."
