National Football League
Cleveland 35, Cincinnati 20
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 25, 2018
Where: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
Temperature: 44°
Head Official: Jerome Boger
Attendance: 56122

Baker Mayfield threw four touchdown passes, Cleveland scored on its first four possessions and the Browns hung on for a 35-20 win over the Bengals on Sunday in Cincinnati.

The win was the first for the Browns on the road since an overtime win against Baltimore on Oct. 1, 2015. They had lost 25 straight away from home, one short of the record set by the Detroit Lions (2007-2010).

The victory also marked the first time the Browns won back-to-back games since 2014, when they won three straight.

The Browns (4-6-1) were in control and looked like they would waltz to the win, especially after starting Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton was knocked out of the game in the third quarter with a thumb injury.

But the Browns' offense stalled trying to establish the run game in the second half, and the Bengals (5-6) found new life in backup quarterback Jeff Driskel, who entered the game after Dalton was injured.

Driskel drove Cincinnati to two second-half touchdowns to trim the 28-point deficit to 35-20.

Cincinnati and Driskel had a chance to cut the deficit to one possession, but the Bengals turned the ball over on downs on the Cleveland 13-yard line with 3:12 left in the game.

The banged-up Bengals, who didn't have wide receiver A.J. Green or cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, were even more banged up after Dalton was forced out.

Driskel, the former Florida Gators quarterback, finished 17 of 29 for 155 yards and one touchdown.

Mayfield completed 17 of 21 pass attempts for 245 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. He threw scoring strikes to Antonio Callaway, Nick Chubb and David Njoku as the Browns took a 28-7 halftime lead.

Mayfield extended that lead to 35-7 early in the third after the Browns recovered a high snap that sailed over Dalton's head (Dalton was hurt in the scramble for the ball). Mayfield found Darren Fells from 6 yards for his fourth touchdown pass of the day.

Mayfield finished 19 of 26 for 258 yards.

Cincinnati had hired ex-Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson last month to help settle the league's worst defense.

Cincinnati outgained Cleveland by a margin of 372-342. The Bengals were penalized 13 times for 96 yards.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Cleveland   Cincinnati
Nick Chubb Player Joe Mixon
28 Attempts 14
84 Yards 89
3.0 Avg Yards 6.4
1 Touchdowns 0
27 Long 32
Receiving
Cleveland   Cincinnati
David Njoku Player Tyler Boyd
5 Receptions 7
63 Yards 85
12.6 Avg Yards 12.1
1 Touchdowns 1
24 Long 28
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Cleveland 342 84 258 5 0 1 1.0 0
Cincinnati 372 129 243 3 0 0 0.0 0
Upcoming Games
  • Cincinnati will play their next game at home against Denver. The Bengals have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Cleveland will play their next game on the road against Houston. The Browns have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .500 after a loss.