Baker Mayfield has his best NFL game, with five TDs including a late winner as Browns beat Bengals
The second round of Baker Mayfield vs. Joe Burrow was even better than the first.
The Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals each have young and exciting quarterbacks, and we’re going to see some fun shootouts between them.
The Week 2 meeting was entertaining, and Sunday was a blast. The Bengals and Browns traded blows, with both quarterbacks playing very well and Mayfield landing the knockout punch.
Burrow had a few key plays on a late winning drive, including a go-ahead touchdown pass to Giovani Bernard to give the Bengals a lead with a little more than a minute to go. Then Mayfield answered with a gorgeous game-winning touchdown pass with 11 seconds left.
Mayfield threw five touchdowns and the Browns escaped with a great 37-34 win.
Baker Mayfield, Joe Burrow both play well
Mayfield got off to a bad start, going 0-for-5 with an interception. Then he caught fire. His touchdown pass to Kareem Hunt in the fourth quarter was his 18th straight completion, which set a franchise record. He did so without Odell Beckham Jr., who left the game early with a knee injury.
And yet, it seemed like Burrow was going to get the best of him.
Burrow’s biggest play on Cincinnati’s go-ahead drive in the final couple minutes might have been running the ball. The Bengals had a third-and-11 just before the two-minute warning, trailing 31-27, and Burrow scrambled for the first down with a nice move in the middle of the run to gain extra yards.
On fourth-and-1 later in the drive, Burrow made a big play the conventional way. He hit Bernard flaring out of the backfield for a touchdown that gave the Bengals a 34-31 lead.
Mayfield had an answer.
Browns get late win
The Browns started their final drive with 1:06 left, 75 yards from the end zone. Mayfield completed four of five passes and the one incompletion was a spike to stop the clock. Mayfield hit Donvan Peoples-Jones down the right sideline for a 24-yard touchdown and the lead with 11 seconds left.
And still, Burrow had another shot. He threw a Hail Mary into the end zone that was deflected and fell to the ground. The Browns won to improve to 5-2. If Cleveland makes the playoffs, remember Sunday’s win as a catalyst for it.
The Bengals have their quarterback of the future in Burrow. There have been some questions about Mayfield the past couple seasons. But he couldn’t have been much better on Sunday.
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