Browns’ Baker Mayfield talks Dak, Cowboys, AT&T Stadium and CeeDee Lamb’s ‘it’ factor
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield knows AT&T Stadium well.
Mayfield has played three games in Arlington, including winning two championships — the Class 4A Division I state championship with Lake Travis in 2011 and the Big 12 Championship with Oklahoma against TCU in 2017. In between, he lost to Baylor as a true freshman while leading Texas Tech in 2013.
He’s a combined 67 of 113 for 833 yards with nine touchdowns and one interception in those three games.
Mayfield and the Browns (2-1) play the Dallas Cowboys (1-2) at noon Sunday in Arlington.
Mayfield talked with the Cleveland media earlier this week and was asked about returning to Texas, playing at AT&T Stadium, Dak Prescott, and his old Sooners teammate CeeDee Lamb.
Here’s an edited version of the interview:
Does returning to Texas give this game special meaning?
Austin is the best city in Texas (laughter). I will have plenty of people there — friends and family, loved ones and all those good people there — but I have to treat it like any other game and have to go do our job.
On Dak Prescott and the Cowboys’ offense and if he anticipates an offensive shootout
I think Dak is a great player. A tremendous amount of respect for him, the leader and the person he is. When it comes down to it, we are playing the Cowboys defense and we have to do whatever it takes to win. If that is a shootout, then great, and if it is another game where we have to control the clock, then we will do that. Whatever it takes to win.
On playing at AT&T Stadium in Arlington
It is always fun to play there. Growing up, seeing the high school state championships there and then playing there a couple times in college, it is a great stadium, and like I said, I am going to have a lot of friends and family there so it will be a fun one.
What stands out most about the Cowboys defense?
They have a great front, some great players that have been doing it for a while back. Aldon Smith, it is good seeing him back and playing well. Jaylon Smith, an unbelievable player and his range and what he can do in sideline to sideline coverage is pretty special. They have some great guys, and they are mixing the secondary around a little bit. We just have to go up there with the same mindset when we played Washington, attack that front and go from there.
Do you have any memories of the Cowboys growing up in Texas? Any favorite Cowboys players?
I was actually a Packers fan because of Brett Favre. I remember the one and only NFL game I ever went to before playing in a game, the Cowboys were playing the Giants I think in a [playoff] game [in January 2008] and Troy Aikman was still playing. My dad’s friend got us on the field, and I got to meet him down there — there are no pictures to prove it; that is a family internal issue (laughter).
[Author’s note: It was Tony Romo, not Aikman.]
Does AT&T Stadium feel like a football stadium, given its intricacies?
Not to take it for granted, but because I have been in there quite a few times throughout high school and college … that screen is pretty breathtaking. It is an extremely nice facility. Up until I think the new L.A. stadium, it was the nicest one in the country. It is quite the facility.
Will this game be special for [Browns’ defensive end] Myles Garrett, who attended Arlington Martin High School?
Yeah, I think it is just another huge opportunity for us. I know Myles knows what is on the line for us. It is a huge one for us, and Myles is going to have opportunities to change the game for us. I know he is looking forward to doing it in front of friends and family, as well as I am.
On Cowboys rookie receiver CeeDee Lamb, a teammate in 2017 at Oklahoma
CeeDee is extremely special. Just from the time when he stepped on campus as a true freshman, I knew he was going to be special. He just has that “it” factor. It is something you can’t teach, and you can’t coach it. He is a dog when he steps on the field. He has that mentality. I have said it before, and it stays true. He is who he is, and he will do whatever it takes to win, and that is why I know the Cowboys are probably loving having him on their on their team.
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
