Tony Grossi ESPN Cleveland 4 Minute Read

Editor's note: Tony Grossi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN 850 WKNR.

By now, everybody believes in Baker.

On the field, Baker Mayfield is having a transcendental season.

In just 12 games since taking over for veteran designated starter Tyrod Taylor, he has obliterated the club record for rookie quarterbacks with 21 touchdowns (Tim Couch’s 15 is next).

With two games to play, Mayfield needs five touchdown passes to match the NFL record for a rookie held by Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson. Two more and he would pass Jim Kelly (22) and match Andrew Luck (23). These were not one-shot wonders, of course, but football royalty who went on to sustained, distinguished careers.

There are a variety of other somewhat obscure statistical mileposts that Mayfield has achieved in a short period of time – a passer rating in the red zone of 117.1 that is second only to the great Drew Brees, his obvious model, for instance – but the touchdowns trump all, in my opinion.

Mayfield has impressed friends and foes alike.

“Baker’s been phenomenal, throwing great passes, leading this team,” said rookie cornerback Denzel Ward. “We’re rallying behind him. He’s leading us to wins.”

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, who once referred to Johnny Manziel as “a midget quarterback,” respected Mayfield thusly on a Wednesday conference call with Cleveland reporters.

“I think he has done a really good job of executing,” Lewis said. “He is timely with the ball. He has made plays on the move. He has thrown accurate throws, and he is not putting the ball at risk.”

So much more: Beyond the statistics, however, Mayfield has shown extraordinary growth in the mental aspect of his position, which speaks to even greater achievements ahead.

Much has been made of the pre-snap adjustments he made after reading the Denver defense and then audibilizing to the winning play – a seemingly simple two-yard slant in the end zone to Antonio Callaway -- in that defining road victory of the Browns’ season. The fact that it came after a long dry spell in the game for Mayfield, who was overly amped for the prime-time showcase, again underscored Mayfield’s ability to “hit the reset button” and focus on the moment rather than dwell on past failures.

What we have here is a young quarterback who in six games under replacement offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens has earned the trust to call audibles at clutch times in games.

“That is a lot of trust right there allowing me to change calls, change formations and just get us in the best position to win,” Mayfield said. “That is what it comes down to. He can call a play, but the thing we talk about is if it does not look good, get us in a good look and make sure that we are in position to have a good play, a positive play and eliminate the negative stuff.

“He trusts me enough and we talk and communicate enough to where I understand what he wants to do, how he wants to accomplish it and that is where that comes from.”

Now, when Mayfield starts audibilizing from pass plays to run plays when he sees the opportunity … well, that’s next level stuff.

But wait, there’s more: Beyond his rapid development on the field is Mayfield’s in-your-face leadership style.

The tasks of the franchise quarterback are plenty. Not only does he have to perform at an extremely high level on the field, he has to be the face and voice of the team, and the conscious in the locker room. He has to be the toughest player on the team, mentally and physically.

When losing teams talk of “changing the culture,” the brunt of that falls on the quarterback.

Two statements from Mayfield demonstrate that he is up to those enormous challenges.

It started at the NFL Combine when he brazenly said, “If anybody’s going to turn that franchise around, it’d be me.” Right now, you’d have to say he was on point.

The other telling statement came after the firings of Hue Jackson and coordinator Todd Haley, when Mayfield was pressed about the responsibility of picking up the pieces falling mostly on his shoulders.

“Bring it on,” he said.

Since then, Mayfield has orchestrated four wins in six games, reaching the end zone 14 times in 15 trips inside the red zone, and establishing the Browns as a team to be reckoned with in the 2019 season.

On Wednesday, Mayfield mused that he wasn’t impressed with being named a fourth alternate to the Pro Bowl.

“That is like you have a certain amount of guys at the playground and what am I … the fourth alternate?” he said. “Until the other three get sick or do not want to play, I am not going in? No, it is not that good. That is not a true Pro Bowl selection.”

And when the topic turned to the possible letdown due to the playoffs being a virtual impossibility, Mayfield’s fiery nature took hold.

“We want to win our last two games,” he said sternly. “If the guys on this team don’t want to do that, then you can get out. That is quite frankly how I feel.

“We have a lot of guys that are playing on their contract year. That also does not need to be a distraction. You need to go out and do your job. The best thing that we can do right now is winning football. Right now, the Cincinnati Bengals is our goal.”

Mayfield has changed the culture of the Browns. You can believe that.