BEREA https://www.brownsfanshop.com/Seth-Devalve-Jersey , Ohio (AP) — e dream stages, Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield sat in an apartment near Texas Tech’s campus and played video games.It was 2013.Three years later, they appeared to do the same thing on the field.“It was a basketball score,” Mayfield recalled.“That game was crazy,” Mahomes said, remembering the October night in 2016 when he and Mayfield re-wrote the NCAA record book.The quarterbacks and friends will renew their old rivalry — and perhaps embark on a new one as pros — Sunday when Mahomes leads Kansas City and the Chiefs‘ high-flying, high-octane offense, into Cleveland to play Mayfield and the Browns, who are again in disarray following the firings this week of coach Hue Jackson and coordinator Todd Haley.The previous time they met between the hash marks, Mahomes and Mayfield put on a stunning statistical show unlike anything college football had seen before.They combined for 12 touchdown passes, 1,279 yards passing and broke the total yardage mark with 1,708 yards — 854 for each school.Looking back, Mayfield, who threw seven TD passes to Mahomes’ five and led the Sooners to a 66-59 win, still can’t fathom what happened.“That was my ‘Welcome back to Lubbock’ moment,” said Mayfield, who began his college career as a walk-on at Texas Tech before transferring.“Weird things happen in Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday nights. It is pretty funny, Oklahoma goes back to Lubbock this weekend and then I am playing Pat on Sunday.”Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who has replaced Jackson as Cleveland’s interim coach, shook his head in disbelief when given details of the Mahomes-Mayfield shootout.“Oh, my gosh,” he said. “Setting defenses back a thousand years.”No one — not even the quarterbacks themselves — could have envisioned their first meeting five years ago when Mayfield hosted Mahomes on his recruiting trip to Texas Tech would blossom into a friendship and maybe the NFL’s next great QB duel.Mayfield was aware of Mahomes’ background and talent — son of a major league baseball player Kevin Zeitler Jersey , bazooka-like arm — but then got to know him personally during that weekend visit. What Mayfield quickly learned was that, like him, Mahomes is a natural leader.“Patrick has always been an easygoing guy,” Mayfield said. “That is why those teammates he has always had play for him so hard. He gets their respect not just based on talent — that’s easy to respect — but based on who he is as a person. He just has that presence about him that you want to be around. You gravitate towards that so it is fun to see him grow.”And my, has Mahomes grown.The 22-year-old leads the league with 26 TD passes and 2,526 yards. He threw six TD passes in Week 2 against Pittsburgh, and Mahomes has made as many jaw-dropping, highlight-reel worthy plays this season as many QBs have in a career.Mahomes’ arm strength has drawn rave reviews. Ask any coach, player, scout or reporter who has seen him play about him, and there’s usually a tale about one of his throws.Mayfield said he’s “absolutely” jealous of Mahomes’ rocket right arm.“There was a play in that college game, he was rolling to his left, flicked it and it went about 65 in the air for a touchdown back of the end zone,” Mayfield said, remembering the OU-Texas Tech classic in ’16. “He does stuff that you can’t even think of even being possible.”Mayfield was surprised Mahomes wasn’t taken in 2017 with the No. 1 pick, which ended up being Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.“Talent-wise, I thought he should have been. I love Myles but,” Mayfield said with a smile.“Coming from the Texas Tech system, there are always your skeptics about people doubting the fact that all he did was sit back there and throw the ball. He threw it 88 times in our game, but when it comes down to it, throwing the ball is throwing the ball, and he is really good at it.”So is Mayfield.While Mahomes only started one game as a rookie last season, Mayfield was thrust into the lineup in Week 3 when Tyrod Taylor was hurt.Mayfield doesn’t have nearly the same supporting cast as Mahomes, but he’s put up respectable numbers and feels he’s learning with every snap.“His talent is through the roof,” Mahomes said of Mayfield. “He is going to keep getting better every single week. He has already had a lot of success. The sky is the limit for him.”On Sunday Joel Bitonio Color Rush Jersey , they’ll go at it again — pass for pass, play for play — in what appears to be a mismatch with the Chiefs rolling and the Browns reeling.But beyond the score, the NFL could get its first glimpse at a budding QB rivalry. It’s not Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning, but that one started somewhere too.“I would absolutely not say that it going to be Brady-Manning right now, but it is humbling to be in that conversation,” Mayfield said.“If he keeps playing that way, there is no reason why it would not be on his side of things. Now, I just have to pick up my side and play better.” CINCINNATI (AP) — A jogging Hue Jackson didn’t break stride as he left the practice field. The recently fired Browns head coach was trying to outrun questions about what it’s like being on the opposite sideline this week.Jackson left Cincinnati after the 2015 season and spent two-plus seasons trying — futilely — to get the Browns to win. Now he’s back in town , trying to beat them in a pivotal game.He’s hoping his insights give the Bengals (5-5) an edge Sunday in the intrastate rivalry. The stakes are high for Cincinnati, which has dominated the series lately and wants to keep it that way.“Everybody wants to count us out right now,” center Billy Price said. “Everybody wants to put us in the dumpster and light us on fire, but we still have a lot to accomplish. We have a lot of things going on. We have a lot of winnable games coming up here.” The Browns (3-6-1) merely would like a victory away from the shore of Lake Erie.Cleveland has lost 25 consecutive road games, one shy of the NFL mark held by the Detroit Lions from 2007-10. The Browns’ last win on the road came at Baltimore, where Josh McCown led them to a 33-30 overtime victory on Oct. 11, 2015 — back when Jackson was the Bengals’ offensive coordinator.Whether the streak endures or ends will come down to whether the Bengals figure out a way to stop Cleveland’s rookie duo on offense.Last week, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Gus Edwards became the first rookie QB/RB duo to run for at least 100 yards in the same game, leading Baltimore to a 24-21 victory over Cincinnati. The Bengals have given up more than 200 yards rushing in each of the last two games.By contrast, Cleveland beat Kansas City 28-16 before heading into its bye week. Rookie Baker Mayfield tied a club rookie record with three touchdown passes, and rookie Nick Chubb ran for a career-high 176 yards, including a 92-yard touchdown that was the second-longest by a rookie in NFL history.“I think it is our guys believing in it, knowing that we do not need anything else besides what we have in this locker room, blocking out the distractions and coming together,” Mayfield said. “Things happen, and you can use it for good. We did.”Can they do it again against their former head coach?Some things to watch at Paul Brown Stadium:HUE KNOWSHow much can Hue Jackson tip the outcome? Sure, he knows the Browns’ systems intimately and the players personally https://www.brownsfanshop.com/Terrance-Mitchell-Jersey , but having the bye week allowed Cleveland to change some things.“In all honesty, there are no secrets anymore in the league with how all the film is out there to show everybody exactly what you’re doing,” Brown interim coach Gregg Williams said.OH THAT DEFENSEThe Bengals fired defensive coordinator Teryl Austin after becoming the first team in the Super Bowl era to allow 500 yards in three straight games. Coach Marvin Lewis assumed the job of defensive coordinator as well as hiring Jackson as a special assistant on defense. The change didn’t make enough of a difference as the Bengals got run over in Baltimore. Their main focus this week is stopping Chubb.“We know that’s their emphasis right now and that’s what they’re going to try to attack us with because that’s our perceived weakness right now,” defensive end Carlos Dunlap said.SERIES-LY ONE-SIDEDThe Bengals have won seven in a row against the Browns, the longest winning streak by either team in the intrastate series. The Bengals have won the last seven by 30, 21, 34, 14, 13, 24 and 24 points. The Bengals are 7-1 against Browns rookie quarterbacks under Lewis, who is in his 16th season. The only loss was 34-24 at Cleveland in 2012 behind Brandon Weeden.ONE, TWONot only are the Browns hoping to avoid infamy with their 26th straight road loss, they’re trying to start a winning “streak.”Cleveland hasn’t won two straight games since 2014, when the Browns reeled off three in a row while improving to 6-3 under then-coach Mike Pettine. That seems like an eternity ago for the Browns, who have gone 8-56-1 since that modest run.“Any time a team (starts) to win a couple in a row, it builds momentum, it builds belief and that can have a positive impact on your team,” right guard Kevin Zeitler said. “It’d be real nice if we can get that going.”PLAYOFFS?While the game has significance for Cincinnati’s playoff hopes, the Browns aren’t yet finished ruminating about the postseason. They’d likely have to win their last six games to end a playoff drought dating to 2002.“If you can’t and don’t believe that we can make a playoff run, then you’re on the wrong team,” cornerback T.J. Carrie said. “And I feel like from that standpoint we all have that feeling and that emotion about we can definitely do something very special and we’re capable of doing it.”