Just when you think it's safe to tweet, the NFL in 2022 throws you another surprise.
Baker Mayfield rekindled memories of Vikings' Josh Freeman disaster — until surprise twist ending
Thrust into action just days after being signed — much like Freeman with the Vikings in a now-infamous 2013 game — Mayfield delivered a surprise stirring comeback for the Rams on Thursday.
December 9, 2022 at 5:07PM
The scene: I'm helping to get our kids ready for bed after a late night at Disney On Ice, when I see the Rams are trailing 16-3 in the fourth quarter of a game in which Baker Mayfield — who joined the team just a few days ago — has been playing virtually the whole time.
My mind immediately goes to Josh Freeman, who was rushed into a 2013 start by the desperate Vikings under similar circumstances (a game that I barely need any prompting to remember, let alone write about).
I fired off a tweet.
I resumed the bed-time routine with the kids, only re-opening Twitter an hour later to find find out that Mayfield did what now?
Rallied the Rams from that deficit with a 17-play touchdown drive followed by a 98-yard touchdown drive in the closing seconds of a 17-16 victory. Of course Mayfield did his best Tom Brady impression, as I talked about on Friday's Daily Delivery podcast.
"I don't know if you can write it any better than that," Mayfield said after the game. "Obviously we'd like to be a little bit more stress free, but it's a pretty damn good story, I'll be honest with you."
It's the sort of debut the Vikings were hoping for nine years ago when they signed Freeman and rushed him into a Monday Night game just days later. The Vikings were 1-4 at the time, crashing to the turf after a surprising playoff season in 2012. Their other options that year were Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel.
The Rams entered Thursday with a 3-9 mark, ostensibly out of the playoff race one year after winning the Super Bowl and looking for any spark with Matthew Stafford out.
Freeman finished that 23-7 loss to the Giants having completed 20 of 53 passes, a stunning display of inaccuracy amid a bizarre pass-heavy game plan. He seemed to get about as much coaching from Rick Spielman in his introductory news conference as he did leading up to the game. Freeman played exactly one more game in his career for the Colts in 2015.
Mayfield finished 22 of 35 for 230 yards and the game-wining TD pass. His numbers were positively Freeman-esque until the fourth quarter, but this is 2022 and you just never know. Maybe he can resurrect his career?
What we saw from Mayfield is as stunning as what we saw from Freeman, albeit for different reasons.
I guess the real lesson learned is to wait until the end before tweeting.
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
