Baker Mayfield's bad day ended early.
The Browns quarterback was removed late in the third quarter of Sunday's 38-7 loss to the Steelers. A chest injury limited Mayfield in practice last week and made him questionable to play against his division rivals. There's no question it affected his performance.
Mayfield's first throw was intercepted by Minkah Fitzpatrick and returned for a touchdown. Cleveland punted on its next three possessions before Mayfield threw another pick, this time to Cameron Sutton. That led to another score for Pittsburgh, which led by 17 at the half and 24 by the time Browns coach Kevin Stefanski replaced Mayfield with Case Keenum.
Mayfield finished 10 of 18 for 119 yards and a touchdown with two INTs, while taking four sacks and several other hits. He said afterward he understood Stefanski's reasoning for pulling him, even if he didn't like it.
"I am focused on the here and now, and I am thinking in the moment that I want to get out there and have some success," Mayfield said. "In his words, he has a big picture mindset so just have to roll with the punches."
Stefanski noted the QB switch was temporary and wouldn't carry over to Week 7's matchup with the Bengals.
"Baker will start as long as he's healthy, and I think he will be," he told reporters. "... I didn't want to see him get hit one more time."
The Steelers (5-0) remained unbeaten while Cleveland (4-2) squandered a chance to take at least a share of first in the AFC North.
