There was no doubt Baker Mayfield would be the Browns' top quarterback at some point soon after being taken No. 1 overall in this year's NFL Draft, but if it weren't for a cruel twist of fate for Tyrod Taylor, Mayfield would still be waiting for the opportunity — because of Cleveland coach Hue Jackson.
Every time Mayfield plays well again as a rookie the rest of this season, it will be more despite Jackson than because of him. Taylor's quick, quasi-injury-related hook is also a byproduct of how Jackson botched the Browns' QB battle that never was.
As Mayfield sparked the Browns in a 21-17 comeback victory over the Jets in Week 3 with play that lived up to his pedigree and hype, he should have earned starting status going forward regardless of whether Taylor is cleared from his concussion before the Sept. 30 game in Oakland. In getting the win and presumably the job, however, Mayfield made Jackson's job security worse.
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If it wasn't enough that Jackson didn't let a talent such as Mayfield even get first-team reps in practice during the offseason, the coach topped himself postgame, telling reporters he "would need to watch the tape" before making a Mayfield vs. Taylor decision for Week 4.
Even a rocket scientist who doesn't watch football would know what Mayfield did in a half-plus (17-of-23 passing, 201 yards, 8.7 yards per attempt, 100.1 passer rating) in contrast to what Taylor didn't do (4 of 14, 19 yards, 1.4 yards per attempt, 8.6 passer rating) merited him regular playing time right away.
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Because one night doesn't make a player, remember that Taylor came to the Browns via trade in March after being one of the league's most underrated quarterbacks with the Bills. Once the Browns opened the draft by taking Mayfield, however, it was silly for Jackson to keep locking into the veteran.
Go figure, but the losing coach Thursday night, the Jets' Todd Bowles, had it figured out. As natural as Josh McCown was in the offense and even though he was coming off his own underrated season, there was little point in him starting over Darnold at age 39 and without much of an NFL future.
Taylor, who has overachieved ever since his days of being a Ravens sixth-round backup to Joe Flacco, was thrown into a no-win situation by Jackson as the unchallenged starter. He has some qualities beyond experience and leadership — none of which he showed Thursday night — that could have earned him the job in an open competition with Mayfield.
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He's 29 and in the final year of his contract, though, so there was little upside to treating him as more than a stopgap backup. Taylor was playing a lot tighter than he did for the Bills in his first 2 1/2 games with Cleveland; in particular, he underthrew balls despite being known as an efficient deep thrower. It was evident that he felt pressure to try to not lose the job instead of playing as loose as he needed to be in a diverse offense. An undrafted rookie replacing a Hall of Fame left tackle and the drama around wide receiver Josh Gordon couldn't have helped.
Mayfield, who's fearless by nature, could afford to let it rip knowing he's the guy for the long haul and that even turning over the ball by being aggressive, a la Darnold, wouldn't cost him his job. The Taylor-Mayfield relationship was good in the offseason, but it's on Jackson for not making it purely mentor-mentee in the vein of McCown-Darnold.
The issues of mishandling the quarterbacks and miscommunication between Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley appeared as though they would come to a head (no pun intended) with a potentially disastrous home loss to the Jets after Cleveland fell behind 14-0 early. With the dreaded long week ahead, a bad defeat prior to facing the Raiders would have put Jackson on the hottest seat in the NFL.
That doesn't mean the unintended, hastened flip to Mayfield and for-now .500 record (1-1-1) should suddenly make Jackson look like a keeper again. After going 1-31 the previous two seasons, there was blame on who was "buying the groceries" before GM John Dorsey came in and did his personnel overhaul. After tying the Steelers and losing to the Saints this season — two games the Browns could easily have won — the scapegoat was kicker Zane Gonzalez.
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Whether working with a limited roster or having a wealth of talent like the Browns do now, Jackson keeps finding ways to undercook the meal. That can't be lost in the upcoming excitement of Mayfield and thoughts of the team turning the corner from not bad in 2018 to pretty darn good in 2019.
Mayfield gives the Browns a much better passer than they have had in a long time, and, in turn, a chance to win a lot more than one game this season, starting with the Raiders. That by no means gives Jackson a pass. Those future wins are tied to Mayfield making better use of Haley's playbook and an improving pressure defense coordinated by Gregg Williams. With his QB mess now out of the way, Jackson's game mismanagement will keep the Browns from winning more than they should.
Starting Mayfield right away and having Taylor as by far the league's best No. 2 quarterback for support was the way it was supposed to happen with the Browns. The fact it took more than four months and almost three games for it to happen by accident? The Browns shouldn't need to see any tape to know that Jackson isn't the one to help them show their true colors.
