Best of the Buckeyes
Mayfield leads Browns to first road win in years and a winning streak
The next step for the Cleveland Browns: Win a game outside of Ohio.
That’s no longer a laughable proposition after the Browns snapped a 25-game road losing streak by beating Cincinnati 35-20 on Sunday behind Baker Mayfield’s career-best four touchdown passes.
Cleveland triumphed away from home for the first time in more than three years.
The Browns carved up Cincinnati’s horrific defence, which had been surrendering an NFL-worst 449.4 yards per game, early and often, scoring two first-quarter touchdowns, then two more in the second quarter to build a stunning 28-0 lead and scored on five of their first six possessions of the game.
Mayfield impressed, completing 73% of his passes after completing 85% in his previous outing, also a win for the 4-6-1 and suddenly competitive perennial laughingstocks. Mayfield was also
not picked off at all for the second straight game and, with nine touchdowns against just a single interception over his past three, is starting to show more consistently why he was the first player taken in the draft last summer.
Myles Garrett, taken in the same spot a year earlier, blocked a 54-yard Bengals field goal attempt and also picked up his 10th sack of the season, ranking him amongst the league’s leaders in that category.
“Good calls and good execution. My line and guys are making plays,” Mayfield said when asked to explain why things are working.
One of those plays included a spectacular touchdown catch by Nick Chubb.
Bengals quarterback Andy
Dalton left early in the third quarter due to a thumb injury and did not return. Cleveland had been surrendering the second-most yards against per game heading in, but shut down Dalton and backup Jeff
Driskel, though the Bengals staged a brief rally behind Driskel.
Browns safety Damarious
Randall gave former head coach Hue Jackson, who is now a special assistant with Cincinnati after being fired by Cleveland last month, the ball after his interception of Dalton. Randall had said earlier in the week that the Browns would shock the world with a win if star Bengals receiver A.J. Green was unable to play (Green indeed sat out).
“This team is very scary right now,” Randall said after the game.
It’s Cleveland’s first winning streak since 2014 and the first time since 2007 that the team has not given up a sack in consecutive games.
“Two games in a row no sacks, no interceptions. That’s the goal and that needs to be the mentality,” Mayfield said.
THE EAGLES FLY ON
Not dead yet.
The defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles have not rallied around the return of Carson
Wentz as many expected them to, but gained some life with a 25-22 win over the New York Giants on Sunday.
A 43-yard Jake Elliott field goal with 22 seconds remaining snapped a twogame skid for the Eagles, who improved to 5-6 and stayed in sight of Dallas and Washington, who the team will take on in pivotal coming games. Eli Manning was at times erratic for the Giants, who led 19-3 in the second quarter and managed to tie the game back up after Philadelphia had pulled in front in the fourth quarter.