The 49ers Had A Great Time Humiliating Baker Mayfield

Tom Ley|published: Tue 8th October, 10:26 2019

credits: Lachlan Cunningham | source: Getty

This has been said many times before, but the Cleveland Browns asked for this. All the hype and shit-talking that followed them throughout the preseason set them up precisely for the kind of embarrassing loss they had last night. Not only did the 49ers beat them 31-3, they took every opportunity to rub Baker Mayfield’s nose in it.

Defensive end Nick Bosa led the way, executing a celebration-based revenge plot that was years in the making. After hitting Mayfield in the first half, Bosa avenged his alma mater, Ohio State, by mimicking the flag-planting celebration that Mayfield did on the Buckeyes’ field back in 2017:

He planted an actual flag on the field after the game, and then he went into the locker room and told reporters about all the shit he talked during the contest:

Cornerback Richard Sherman, who intercepted Mayfield in the first quarter, also got in on the postgame Baker-clowning. Sherman revealed that Mayfield refused to shake his hand before the game started, which Sherman found to be disrespectful and worthy of punishment. From ESPN:

“What’s amazing, and annoying, was him not shaking hands at the beginning,” Sherman said, according to NFL.com. “That’s some college s—-. It’s ridiculous. We’re all trying to get psyched up, but shaking hands with your opponent — that’s NFL etiquette. And when you pull bush league stuff, that’s disrespectful to the game. And believe me, that’s gonna get us fired up.”

[...]

“He hasn’t earned anything in this league. How many games has he won? He’s acting like he was the MVP last year. If [Patrick] Mahomes did that, it would be one thing. But he would never do that, because he has too much respect for the game.

“And when you see a guy who doesn’t? You humble him every chance you get. Because eventually, he will have respect for the league — or he’ll be out of it.”

The Browns better start winning games more consistently, not just because it would be nice to make the playoffs, but because nobody is going to catch more shit for losing than they are.