4 mistakes Baker Mayfield cannot afford to make in Week 5 vs. 49ers
By Dean Jones
Baker Mayfield must avoid more batted passes
One of the biggest areas of concern surrounding Baker Mayfield during his time in the league is batted passes. The quarterback isn’t blessed with the greatest height and it’s something opposing defenses are keying in on heavily through four weeks.
Mayfield currently has 12 batted passes on the season, so he is well on course for a career-high in this particular category. His current highest-ever mark was 20 back in 2019.
This is something that cannot be resolved fully. Mayfield just isn’t tall enough to cope with imposing defensive linemen getting their hands up and making it extremely difficult.
However, Mayfield and offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo have a responsibility to limit these errors against the San Francisco 49ers, who can create turnovers at will on defense.
Perhaps getting Mayfield out on the move would assist. It certainly wouldn’t hurt based on the bland concepts fans have been forced to witness over the first quarter of 2022.
If Mayfield can limit the batted passes and improve accuracy, then the Carolina Panthers could emerge with a slight window of opportunity. But as stated previously, this will be much easier said than done against a Niners defense that is brimming with confidence after giving quarterback Matthew Stafford nightmares in Week 4.