Film Room: Mayfield and Garrett leading Browns back to prominence

Week 14 might have been the strangest we've seen in a while. And at the top of the oddities list: the Cleveland Browns won in a week when all three of their division rivals lost for the first time since 2013.

With that victory and the losses by their AFC North counterparts, the Browns kept their slim playoff hopes alive. Cleveland has found itself in contention thanks to contributions from its most recent No. 1 picks, quarterback Baker Mayfield and defensive end Myles Garrett.

Mayfield has drawn the bulk of the attention for the resurgence. Pressed into action during a Week 3 game against the New York Jets, the rookie quarterback helped deliver the first victory for the Browns in more than a year. However, it has been Mayfield's growth as a passer over the past few weeks that has helped keep the team in the playoff hunt into December for the first time in a long time. Mayfield's development was on display Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

One of the traits that worked in his favor as a draft prospect was his ability to create plays outside the pocket. His ability to keep plays alive in those scramble drill moments makes him very difficult to defend. The Panthers got a taste of that in the second quarter:

The Browns run a vertical passing concept often termed "989." Cleveland has a vertical route on the outside to both sides of the field - the "9" routes - while Jarvis Landry runs the post route in the middle of the field. The Panthers run a Cover 3 scheme, with the free safety shaded toward the two-receiver side of the formation.

Mayfield is forced off his spot quickly in the play due to some pressure from the left side. But rather than drop his eyes and look for an escape route, Mayfield continues to look downfield for Landry to get behind the defense. The rookie QB slides with his receiver to the left and delivers on a deep shot for a touchdown.

These are the kind of moments we expected Mayfield to deliver. Playing quarterback, however, requires more than just playground theatrics. This is where Mayfield has shown tremendous growth. Later in the second quarter, the Browns face a first-and-10 in their own territory following a Panthers scoring drive. For the first play of their ensuing possession, Cleveland looks to another vertical concept:

Mayfield executes a play-action fake and will work the left side of the field, where he has a vertical route and a deep out route from tight end David Njoku to choose from. Carolina shows another Cover 3 scheme in the secondary, and it will stay in that coverage on the play:

Before the play, Mayfield realizes the Panthers are in a three-deep coverage and begins to come up with a plan. If the defense stays in this coverage scheme, the vertical route will occupy the cornerback, allowing Njoku to enter the area now vacated by the cornerback while working against a linebacker. Once Mayfield confirms this as the play begins, he can make a decision:

What stands out here is the anticipation on the throw. Mayfield was not known as a great anticipatory thrower coming out of Oklahoma, though he might have been sold short in that category. Here, he confirms the defense post-snap and pulls the trigger well before Njoku's break:

Perfect timing, anticipation, and placement lead to a big gain.

We will return to Mayfield in a moment, but it is a good time to check in on Garrett, who has looked every bit the part of a first overall selection in his second NFL season. He enters Week 15 tied for third in the league in sacks with Danielle Hunter and J.J. Watt at 12.5. His quickness off the edge, his athleticism, and his ability to convert speed to power make him a force coming off the outside for the Browns' defense. Here are just two examples.

Early in the third quarter, the Panthers try to get Christian McCaffrey the football on the edge using a fly-sweep design, taking the second-year running back right into the potential path of Garrett off the edge:

Garrett, however, is having none of it:

The defender aligns in a Wide-9 alignment, placing him well outside the left tackle before the play. Carolina tries to be creative here, to its detriment, by pulling the left tackle to the outside and entrusting rookie wide receiver D.J. Moore to crack-block Garrett. But because of the defender's speed and quickness off the line, he's well inside and past Moore. The rookie WR has no chance, and neither does McCaffrey.

Tackles for a loss on plays like this are a nice boost, but Garrett was drafted for one major reason: attacking the opposing passer. He notched one sack of Cam Newton, for a loss of just one yard, but sometimes the box score does not tell the whole story. On this single play, Garrett flashed the traits that made him the first overall selection, and those traits will make him a feared edge rusher for years to come.

Late in the third quarter, the Panthers face a second-and-7 in their own territory, and they align Newton in the shotgun. Garrett aligns again in this Wide-9 alignment, outside of left tackle Chris Clark:

Garrett is going to get home for the sack on this play, and there are a few things to watch on this snap. First, the quickness the defender uses again as he explodes off the line of scrimmage. Then, the speed-to-power conversion, as Garrett uses his momentum to get into Clark and then uses a "rip" move with his left arm, thrusting upward into the armpit of the left tackle to gain a leverage advantage. Finally, his ability to "bend" and "run the arc." The defender alters his path and circles toward the QB, and it requires him to bend his body, arc toward the passer, and take down his target:

Garrett displays all these traits on this one play. He gets into Clark, uses a powerful rip move to gain the leverage advantage, then finishes by circling around the back of the pocket, tracking down Newton from behind, and sacking him.

Ultimately, however, the success or failure of the Browns over the next few seasons will come down to Mayfield's development, which is why we can end on one last play by the QB. With fewer than three minutes remaining in the first half, Mayfield faced one of those humbling moments that only the NFL can deliver:

Cleveland has the football just inside Carolina territory, on a third-and-9 situation, and is looking to erase the Panthers' three-point lead. But it needs to convert this pivotal third down. Mayfield is in the shotgun and the defense shows pressure up front. He can't decipher which defenders are coming after him, if any. He'll need to trust the blocking up front and potentially hang in the pocket as it collapses to move the chains on this long-yardage situation.

The blitz does come, but Mayfield stays calm in the cauldron before making this throw:

Watching this play from the end zone angle gives you an appreciation for what quarterbacks face on a given play. These are the plays - the ones that come from inside the pocket on those pivotal moments - that show true growth as a passer.

With the holiday season upon us, the Browns are still in the playoff hunt for the first time in arguably ten years. Granted, they will need some help to get into the postseason, but with players like Mayfield and Garrett to build around, chances are Cleveland will be in many playoff hunts in the years to come.