Monday leftovers (Tuesday edition)

Blunt question time. It’s an either/or with Baker Mayfield in the crosshairs.

Is he the franchise quarterback the Browns believed he was at the conclusion of the 2018 season? Or is he just another in a long line of Cleveland quarterbacks who flash and then ultimately disappear?

Given the uneven performances we have seen from the brash Texan this season, that is a legitimate question that appears to have no immediate right or wrong answer, but it is definitely downtrending.

It is entirely possible that after his spectacular rookie season, National Football League defenses have finally caught up to him and figured him out. The 31-3 thrashing against San Francisco Monday night was a warning shot delivered across the bow.

This is where your rising star begins its ascent, the 49ers seemed to be telling Mayfield, who was thoroughly beaten up until coach Freddie Kitchens decided to let backup Garrett Gilbert finish the game late in the final quarter.

“I thought he was taking too many hits unnecessarily,” coach Freddie Kitchens said, lamely defending his extremely slow hook when it was clearly obvious the game was lost with 15 minutes left and the Niners frolicking in the Cleveland offensive backfield.

Why Mayfield was even in there at that juncture of the game against a team determined to pound the living daylights out of him (and succeeding) and working behind an offensive line full of turnstiles is beyond all reasoning.

The 49ers were leading, 28-3, midway through the final quarter and the Browns gave no indications whatsoever they were a threat. And yet there was the face of the franchise lined up in the defense’s sights.

Niners rookie defensive end Nick Bosa used Mayfield as his personal rag doll all evening. He was in the Cleveland backfield so often, one would have thought the former Ohio State star was either in the offense’s game plan or the quarterback’s personal valet with an anger problem.

Bosa, starting his first game after battling injuries since training camp, started a personal vendetta against Mayfield from the first snap and did not relent until the quarterback watched the game’s final series from the safety of the bench.

No one stopped him. Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks tried a number of different ways, but all various members of the offensive line could do was flail hopelessly as Bosa worked his way back to his intended target.

His motivating force was a remembrance of a certain September night at the Horseshoe in Columbus in 2017 when Mayfield’s Oklahoma University team upset the Buckeyes and waved his school’s large flag at midfield after the game and then planted it in the Block O.

On the final play of the first half, Bosa penetrated (for the umpteenth time) the Cleveland backfield, grabbed Mayfield and was in the process of spinning him down when the quarterback heaved a desperation pass to avoid another sack. It was correctly ruled intentional grounding.

Bosa, who wound up with four solo tackles, two sacks, five quarterback hits, six hurries and a fumble recovery, jumped up gleefully and with predesigned purpose pretended to wave an imaginary flag back and forth with both hands before planting it into the turf. If humiliation and mocking Mayfield was his goal . . . bull’s-eye.

“I think everybody knows what that was for,” Bosa said after the game. “I just wanted to get payback. He had it coming,”

The game that came easily to Mayfield last season no longer exists. Whether it’s him, the scheme, the awful offensive line, the lack of consistency, the lack of rhythm, the sophomore jinx (had to throw that in), whatever, it is not working. And there seems to be no solution.

The normally brash, this-is-who-I-am personality, who has welcomed large numbers of fans aboard his bandwagon in the last year, was humbled in a most forceful and embarrassing manner Monday night. How he handles it will go a long way in determining the direction this team heads as the season wears on.

As it turns out, the trouncing of the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday, thought to finally be a turning point for a Browns team that seemed to have no discernable direction, was indeed an aberration.

If nothing else, it must be noted ESPN commentator Rex Ryan might have been more spot-on than he realized when he said Mayfield was “overrated as hell” a couple of weeks ago. The ex-coach’s flip remark might be closer to being correct than initially received in Cleveland.

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The Browns have now played three prime time nationally beamed games in the first five weeks. They won one against a badly beaten up New York Jets team, lost a close one to the much better Los Angeles Rams and then the nightmare that was the trip west.

I wonder if television executives, who have some influence as to which teams they would like to see more than once on their networks, regret selecting the Browns as one of those teams.

There is no question they bought the hype that flowed out of Cleveland this summer after their performance in the second half of last season. The glamour of Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. also had to be a magnet for their interest.

They have been rewarded with something other than the kind of football they hoped to glean from this team. And there is still one more to go; a Thursday night date against Pittsburgh at home in the middle of next month. The Dec. 1 rematch with the Steelers at 4:25 p.m. on CBS might also be seen in a large majority of the country.

That brings to mind the last time TV execs fell in love with the Browns. It was 2008, the year after they surprised most everyone by tying the Steelers for the AFC North title with a 10-6 record, but failing to make the playoffs on a tiebreaker.

They were awarded a couple of Monday night appearances, a third on Sunday night and the requisite Thursday night gig on the NFL Network. They split those games, but finished the season 4-12, waving adios to Romeo Crennel after four seasons.

That began a carousel of five coaches in the next 10 seasons before Kitchens came along. Remember Eric Mangini, Pat Shurmur, Rob (We Believe in Chud) Chudzinski, Mike Pettine and the truly forgettable Hue Jackson?

Could history be surreptitiously repeating itself? Ironically, maybe coincidentally, the Browns began the 2008 season 2-3 after five games, the same record the current team owns. They lost nine of the final 11 games. A portent of things to come 11 years later?

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Wonder what’s going through John Dorsey’s mind now after the humbling loss to the 49ers. The general manager has some ‘splainin to do to his boss, the man who signs his paychecks.

He cant be happy at all with (a) the ill-prepared team that showed up in all three phases of the game Monday night,  (b) the shabby performance of those who ply their trade in the trenches, handily manhandled by their counterparts from San Francisco, (c) the shocking lack of speed and quickness on both sides of the football, and (d) his head coach.

He has to wonder if this team is underachieving at this early point of the season and not to worry because things will get better. Or are they incapable of playing beyond their potential – this is the best they can play – and fixes need to be made.

His head coach said the defensive line was the strength of the team. That 49ers gouged and gashed that “strength” for 275 yards on the ground, 185 in the first half alone. An incredible 170 of those first-half yards were gained before contact was made. The Niners’ offensive line is good, but not that good.

And while the players seemingly like their head coach and play hard for him, they don’t seem to be playing smart for him, making dumb mistakes with alarming frequency. Good teams do not lose games by scores of 43-13 and 31-3 five games into a season. That is a blaring sign something is wrong.

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Antonio Callaway’s return after a four-game suspension was memorable, but hardly in a good way. The second-year wide receiver was the target on Mayfield’s first interception, Richard Sherman grabbing the underthrown ball on the play following Matt Breida’s 83-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring in the first quarter.

The Browns were down just 14-3 late in the second quarter and driving when they reached the 49ers’ nine-yard line.  “Here come the Browns,” exclaimed ESPN play-by-play voice Joe Tessitore. Three plays later, with Callaway taking center stage, the Browns proved him wrong.

Callaway was flagged for moving prematurely on first-and-goal at the nine. A Mayfield to Beckham connection picked up seven yards and Nick Chubb was stuffed for no gain, bringing up a first-and-goal at the seven.

Mayfield found Callaway, alone and sitting just outside the goal line, but he juggled the pass, knocking the ball up in the air in the process. Frisco cornerback K’Waun

Williams, an ex-Brown, grabbed it out of the air and rambled 51 yards. The 49ers offense converted the turnover into a score six plays later.

So instead of the Browns pulling to within 14-10, the home team took a 21-3 lead into the locker room. All Callaway had to do, but didn’t, was simply hold on to the ball and roll into the end zone. The ultimate dagger.

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Finally . . . Mayfield did not seem concerned after the game. “I’ll be all right,” he said. “It’s just the nature of the game. I’ll be good.” . . . Chubb continued his strong running with 87 yards, but became a non-factor when the Browns were forced to throw after falling so far behind. . . . The 49ers controlled the football for nearly 38 minutes, running 71 plays from scrimmage to Cleveland’s 46. . . . Eleven of those Cleveland plays were on third down, They converted once – early in the second quarter on a third-and-6 – a 12-yard Mayfield-Jarvis Landry hookup. . . . Let’s see now: The Niners forced four Cleveland turnovers, ran for 275 yards, had a commanding edge in time of possession and held the Browns to 180 total yards. Yep, that’s called domination. . . . Strong safety Morgan Burnett returned after missing a couple of games. Cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams remained sidelined with hamstring issues. . . . Ricky Seals-Jones, who caught a TD pass in the Baltimore victory, barely appeared on the stats sheet with one target. Mayfield targeted the tight end on the fourth play of the initial series, but he couldn’t keep both feet in bounds after catching a 30-yarder. A replay challenge overturned the original call of a completed pass. Mayfield never threw to him again. . . . . The final score could have been a lot worse. Normally reliable veteran placekicker Robbie Gould missed three of his four field goal attempts.