Revenge game? Carolina Panthers QB Baker Mayfield enters showdown vs. Cleveland Browns with more than pride on the line

Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield claims he's not out for revenge against the Cleveland Browns.

Then again, he once planted a flag in Ohio Stadium. Threw seven touchdowns against his former college team. And stared down coach Hue Jackson.

In the past, Mayfield has thrived when emotionally charged, especially when revenge has been on the line. And Sunday against his former team, he can settle his biggest score yet.

Will the Panthers' quarterback begin to revive his once promising career by humbling and humiliating the franchise that discarded him this offseason?

Or, will the Browns shut him down, shut him up and show why they moved on from their former No. 1 overall draft pick after only four years?

On the heels of a dramatic divorce, Sunday's showdown in Charlotte (1 p.m. ET, CBS) will carry massive morale implications for both sides. The outcome could portend plenty for Mayfield, the Panthers and the Browns for the rest of the season.

«It's a great storyline,» Mayfield said. «Obviously, there's history involved.»

NOT LONG AGO, Mayfield was the face of Cleveland's franchise.

As a rookie in 2018, he led the Browns to their first victory in 635 days. In 2020, he quarterbacked Cleveland to its first playoff victory in 26 years.

But Mayfield struggled after tearing the labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder in Week 2 last season. The Browns finished with a losing record. And Cleveland pursued a trade for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, even though Watson faced more than two dozen allegations of sexual assault and inappropriate sexual misconduct during massage sessions.

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