Baker Mayfield must have a better Week 2 to avoid whispers of disaster in Carolina

Baker Mayfield looked shaky for much of his Carolina Panthers debut. That was to be expected given the pressure of going up against his former team, the Cleveland Browns. But he showed flashes of success and nearly led his team to victory, if not for a heroic kick from Browns rookie Cade York to seal a 26-24 Cleveland win.

A win would have likely erased all the concerns about his play. It was Week 1 and the quarterback play around the league was rough. But pressure is high in Carolina and a bad start could mean head coach Matt Rhule loses his job.

That means Mayfield needs to step up big in Week 2 not only for his coach's job, but for his own.

What another loss would mean for Baker Mayfield?

Baker Mayfield in action

The Panthers have had a rough go under Rhule's leadership. The team is now 10-24 with him calling the shots, which is obviously a problem.

That is why the organization went out and grabbed Baker Mayfield even though they already had Sam Darnold and had drafted Matt Corral. The former No. 1 overall pick was supposed to show up and help save the program.

Of course, that is a ton of pressure on one player. Mayfield had a shaky 2021 season and is now tasked with saving the Panthers after he himself was cast off by Cleveland in the offseason. It's not like this is Tom Brady showing up for a new challenge.

Week 2 features a very winnable matchup against the New York Giants. New York did pull off a thrilling comeback victory over the Tennessee Titans last week, but on paper, both teams are even with the Giants getting an edge for being at home.

Baker Mayfield and the Panthers already lost to the Browns without Deshaun Watson. Losing to a Giants team that is not considered a playoff contender may mean Carolina stands no chance against actual tough competition.

The defense totally collapsing on Sunday is one thing. However, Mayfield can save the day by leading the offense to great things. This means improving upon his 16/27 line from Week 1 and not giving the ball away at all.

Playing worse against a team like the Giants would put Carolina in a hopeless spot. Darnold is already on injured reserve, meaning the top backup option is not even available this month. Throwing Corral into the fire right away wouldn't be very fair either.

Losing in Week 1 was not a sign of doom. But dropping to 0-2 without much hope at quarterback could start early whispers on an in-season reset. That would mean another lost year in Carolina, with things getting more difficult in Week 3 with a matchup against the New Orleans Saints.

As for Baker Mayfield, a 0-2 start could doom any hopes of leading the team to the playoffs and landing a lucrative new deal in the offseason. He would be on the Mitchell Trubisky path, where his next deal will likely be for a few million dollars.

That is not what he had in mind when he was getting everyone hyped up for a revenge game against his old team.