After disappointing 2021, are Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns headed toward a split?

BEREA, Ohio — The last time he was in Pittsburgh, quarterback Baker Mayfield took a knee to clinch the Cleveland Browns’ first playoff victory in 26 years.

As Mayfield galloped off Heinz Field, game ball still in hand, Cleveland’s other former No. 1 overall pick, Myles Garrett, was waiting. The two met in midair, bumping shoulders in celebration.

At that moment, it felt as if all doubt about Mayfield had been removed. Having wandered aimlessly through the quarterbacking wilderness for decades, the Browns finally had found their franchise passer.

A rejuvenated Mayfield, who had weathered early turmoil in Cleveland, seemed destined to be behind center for the Browns for the next decade-plus. A long-term contract extension appeared to be in the offing, too.

Much has changed as Mayfield and the Browns head back to Pittsburgh for Monday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN). At 7-8, Cleveland already has been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs with two games still to play — after entering the 2021 season with Super Bowl expectations.

Mayfield, while playing through multiple injuries, including a torn labrum to his non-throwing left shoulder, has struggled in his fourth NFL season. He ranks 25th in QBR, leading only four rookies and two others — Jared Goff and Sam Darnold — who were jettisoned last offseason by the teams that drafted them.

In the fourth quarter, Mayfield’s numbers have been even worse. He’s last among qualifying quarterbacks in fourth-quarter QBR (23.4 on a scale 0-100) and fourth-quarter completion percentage (51.6%) with the highest fourth-quarter off-target rate (27.3%). Mayfield has also gone 0-for-5 on potential game-winning drives this season, culminating with last week’s season-crushing, 24-22 loss in Green Bay, which ended on his career-high fourth interception of…