Monday leftovers (Tuesday edition) 

Kevin Stefanski had a rather strange post-game reaction to the Browns' 47-42 loss to the Baltimore Ravens Monday night, a game in which his team played well enough on offense to beat a large majority of National Football League teams. He was in no mood to think moral victory.

In fact, he totally disdained the notion. "I don't want to go down the moral victories (path)," he said. "We lost. We got beat. Proud of the guys and how they battled -- I really am -- but I look at all the mistakes we made, We have to correct them.

"We came here to get a victory and we did not. I appreciate how the guys battled, but we did not do enough to get the win."And that's when he rejected moral victories and attaching any importance to them. 

In some ways, it is refreshing to hear that reaction, which sends a message to the rest of the NFL that losing will not be tolerated by Stefanski in spite of an effort by his team that would win most game games. 

It suggests he would rather his team play poorly and win than play well and lose. Is that the new standard by which he values winning? Frankly, I'd much rather play well and lose than play poorly and win. The latter involves luck. The former is more rewarding in the end.

Some would argue a victory is still a victory no matter how it is achieved. Until you lose a game like this. And that's when you could justify accepting a victory despite poor play.

Considering that the Ravens hung a 38-6 drubbing on the Browns in the season opener, I'd say all the mistakes that were made by the offense in that one were definitely corrected big time Monday night. Can't remember the last time the Browns lost a game when scoring 42 points.

Stefanski would have none of that. "For us to reflect on week one to week 13, I don't think we are really are in that mind fame," he said. To the rookie head coach, a loss is a loss no matter how it comes packaged. It still stings. This one was harder to accept because it was so tightly contested.

That is where the big problem lies. The talent-challenged defense was mainly responsible for allowing Lamar Jackson to successfully perform his magic act in his first game back from COVID-19. They had a few correct answers in the first half, sacking him four times. There were no answers in the second half.

Losing in this fashion toughens teams, The next time a game like this is played, the Browns will win. And the next one, And the next one. The takeaway is they now know what it takes to win. That's the lesson that emerges. If it takes a loss to discover that, so be it.

Apparently Stefanski comes from the coaching school that says effort usually paves the road to winning. And the Browns' efforts in this one went unrewarded. Many players reportedly were in agreement with their coach. 

Coming close isn't good enough. Doesn't cut it, especially at this time of the season when verdicts have a profound ramifications on where the team spends January and February. Winning games in December are imperative for teams with postseason dreams. The formerly woebegone Browns definitely qualify here.

The glittering silver lining in this one was the way the Browns as a team hung in there. The way they battled, The way they refused to pack it in as the defense consistently surrendered vast chunks of yardage, often times blowing assignments in the secondary. That's got to count for something.

It was all the Cleveland offense could do to catch up and actually take a one-point lead midway through the final quarter. Stefanski had to notice that, but it nevertheless did not deter him from honestly sharing his overall opinion.

"It's almost going to be midnight here and it is almost going to be Tuesday and we have a game coming up on Sunday (night)," he said near the end of his Zoom call with the media following the game. "We will own this and we will move on and put all our efforts into next week."

Sorry, coach. Can't agree with you on this. This is not Minnesota (your previous stop) where the Vikings are expected to win and moral victories do not exist. This is Cleveland where victories over the last two decades have been are few and more precious. That's why this one felt like a victory even though it wasn't.

And now that you're with the Browns and lots of victories loom in the immediate future, moral victories like this will disappear because your team will wipe away the notion that any game that is played well and lost will not be looked upon quite the same way.

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Baker Mayfield took a big step in proving to Stefanski he is highly capable of placing the offense on his back and carrying them to dizzying heights in a hurry. He did it a week ago in the first half of the Tennessee victory and did it again against the Ravens after throwing his first interception in 187 attempts late in the third quarter.

The pick set up a short Ravens touchdown that stretched the lead to 34-20 with four minutes left in the third quarter. Ball game, I thought. They are never coming back from that. And that's when Mayfield took over and proved doubters like me wrong.

The next three possessions wound up in the Baltimore end zone (12 plays, 75 yards, Rashard Higgins 21- yard touchdown reception; 12 plays, 70 yards, Mayfield scoring on a five-yard scramble around right end; four plays, 75 yards in a brisk 47 seconds, Kareem Hunt, 22-yard scoring catch). 

It was in some ways even more impressive than his dynamic Tennessee performance. In that one, he kept piling it on while in the lead. In the Ravens game, he hiked it several notches because he was playing from behind on each possession.

Mayfield was absolutely locked in against one of the best defensive units in the NFL, completing 11 of 14 passes in 18 minutes for 149  yards. He was clutch, converting a pair of fourth-down opportunities on the first drive, including the Higgins scoring pass, and was brilliant on the four-play drive, connecting on passes of 30 yards (Donovan Peoples-Jones), 17 (Jarvis Landry), 16 and 22 yards (both Hunt),

It would appear he has become not only a solid game manager, but a quarterback rapidly proving he can help win games in ways that involve the forward pass. His only mistake against the Ravens was not recognizing a zone blitz where linebacker Tyus Bowser dropped back into zone coverage and was in position to swipe a pass intended for Higgins.

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Speaking of Peoples-Jones, he is quietly becoming a big-play receiver making an impression on Mayfield to the point where he is slowly becoming more comfortable in this offense. He played a season-high 58 snaps against Baltimore, was targeted a season-high five times and tied his season high with three receptions for a not season high 74 yards.

Even though he has been targeted only 14 times in five games this season, the sixth-round draft choice out of Michigan has made them all count. He averages 23,8 yards for his 10 receptions, which include a 75-yard touchdown down reception against Tennessee and the winning touchdown catch in the second Cincinnati game,

Right now, he is the No. 3 wideout for Mayfield behind Landry and Higgins, due mainly to a hamstring injury that has shelved KhaDarel Hodge the last two games, He has proven reliable to the point where Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt should seriously think about incorporating him more in the game plan.

He is also valuable in two other areas. He has not dropped or misplayed a punt this season and has proven a strong blocker in Stefanski's important ground game. 

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Cody Parkey might be looking over his shoulder to see whether the Browns are bringing in anyone in to challenge him as the Browns' placekicker. He hit the dreaded daily double for a placekicker-- a missed field goal from 39 yards and extra point -- against the Ravens that had to draw the attention of special teams coordinator Mike Priefer and Stefanski.

When you are seriously contending for the postseason, you had better be on your game if you are a kicker. Even though pressure accompanies the job, there is no excuse for missing short kicks like that with so much at stake. You are expected to be perfect and then improve on that.

It was only his third miss from field-goal range this season in 20 attempts and second missed extra point. They came at a most inappropriate time. Keep an eye on possible tryouts at the position this week.

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Finally . . . The Browns need to work on their fire-drill at the end of games where miracles reside in the hopes of getting lucky.The comical end of the Ravens loss saw Mayfield on the last play of the game complete a pass to . . . it really doesn't matter who because seven laterals, or backward passes, later the fotball wound up in the hands of Landry, who was shoved out of his end zone, enabling the Ravens to tack on two more points and cover the three-point spread on the game, costing bettors who had the Browns a lot of money. . . . For the fifth time this season, including the last two outings, the offensive line kept Mayfield clean. He has been sacked just 17 times this season. . . .  Nine of the 11 second-half possessions (not counting the humorous ending) resulted in points. . . . The Browns have to find a way to stop Baltimore tight end Mark Andrews, who has tortured the Cleveland secondary in the last three seasons for 25 receptions (36 targets) for 330 yards and five touchdowns in the last four meetings. Andrews, who was Mayfield's tight end at Oklahoma, is Lamar Jackson's go-to guy in clutch situations.