Portrait » CLEVELAND (AP) — No awkward hug. No cold handshake.

No holiday greeting.Baker Mayfield’s only interaction with former coach Hue Jackson was an icy stare.Mayfield threw three touchdown passes to thrill a sellout Duron Harmon Jerseys 2019 , holiday-spirited crowd that came out to boo Jackson, and rookie Nick Chubb ran for 112 yard as the Cleveland Browns beat the Cincinnati Bengals 26-18 on Sunday to sweep their southern Ohio neighbors for the first time since 2002.Article continues below ...“Quite honestly, I couldn’t care about what happened in the past,” Mayfield said. “It is about this year and we won. We are moving forward.”The No. 1 pick in this year’s draft continued his stellar rookie season, one that took off after Jackson was fired by the Browns on Oct. 29. Mayfield has thrown 24 TD passes, third most in NFL history by a rookie and just two shy of the record shared by Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson.With their fifth win in six games, the Browns (7-7-1) improved to 5-2 under interim coach Gregg Williams, who has gone from long shot to legitimate candidate to become Cleveland’s next coach. It’s only the second time since 2007 that the Browns have won at least seven games.The Bengals (6-9), on the other hand, are disintegrating under coach Marvin Lewis. They lost for the sixth time in seven games and are assured of finishing last in the AFC North, a spot the Browns have occupied every season since 2011.Cincinnati made it interesting as Jeff Driskel threw two TD passes in a two-minute stretch to get the Bengals close.However, Mayfield connected with tight end David Njoku for 66 yards just before the two-minute warning and the Browns ran out the clock.Following the long completion White Marcus Cannon Jerseys , Mayfield jogged past Jackson standing on the sideline and stared at his former coach, whom he called “fake” after their matchup last month in Cincinnati.Mayfield playfully denied he was showing up Jackson.“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said.Told that the exchange was blowing up on social media, Mayfield said, “That’s all right. We won.”Lewis spent little time discussing what went wrong, holding a news conference that lasted just over a minute.“We came into this season thinking, ‘We can win this division,'” Driskel said. “You have to look at yourself and ask, ‘What can I do to prevent this next week or next season?'”Mayfield has Browns fans convinced there are glory days ahead. He challenged Clevelanders to fill FirstEnergy Stadium for the home finale, and they did show with a surge in ticket sales this week.The Browns were officially eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday. That hardly dampened the enthusiasm around a team that has recovered from a 0-16 season and become one of the league’s best stories in 2018.Mayfield’s the main reason.In the fourth quarter, fans chanted “Ba-ker, Ba-ker” after he scampered 10 yards. Moments later Marcus Cannon Jerseys 2019 , they were roaring again after Mayfield stretched to reach for a first down before being shoved hard out of bounds by defensive end Carlos Dunlap, triggering a sideline skirmish near Cleveland’s bench.“It has been a good run,” Mayfield said. “Obviously, we would love to be in the playoffs, but like I said earlier in the year, you know that you have to go through some tough times to see the brighter end of it.”NO PASSING GRADEDriskel, making his fourth start for the injured Andy Dalton, was sacked three times and under duress all day. He completed two passes for 3 yards in the first half, when the Bengals had minus-15 yards passing.TRICK AND TREATBrowns offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens went into his bag of tricks to set up Cleveland’s second TD. On first down, the Browns ran a pass off a reverse with wide receiver Jarvis Landry threading a 63-yard pass — the ball traveled more than 50 yards in the air — to Breshad Perriman. Two plays later, Mayfield rolled right and found just enough space to throw a scoring pass to Darren Fells.“I need to ice up my shoulder,” joked Landry.ROOKIE RECORDChubb and set the franchise rookie rushing record for a season White Brandon Bolden Jerseys , previously held by Trent Richardson.STELLAR STARTMayfield has thrown at least one TD pass in each of his 12 starts. He trails only St. Louis’ Kurt Warner (23 from 1999-00) and Minnesota’s Brad Johnson (15 from 1996-97) for the most consecutive starts with a scoring pass to begin a career.MIXON MILESTONEBengals running back Joe Mixon came in leading the AFC in yards rushing and attempts and needing 5 yards to reach 1,000. He got them on his first carry, a 6-yard run in the first quarter. Mixon is the first Cincinnati back to reach the plateau since Jeremy Hill (2014).INJURIESBengals: LB Vontaze Burfict played most of the first half before going out with a concussion. He came in listed as questionable with a head injury that forced him to miss practice. … Starting CB Dre Kirkpatrick hurt his right shoulder in the first quarter and did not return.Browns: Pro Bowl rookie cornerback Denzel Ward is back in concussion protocol after getting hurt in the fourth quarter. Ward had just returned after missing the previous two games with a head injury.UP NEXTBengals:At Pittsburgh on Sunday.Browns: Finish season at Baltimore on Sunday. Rowe’s time with the Patriots might come to an end after three years."WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementNFL Free AgencyPatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots Free Agency CoveragePatriots 2019 free agency profile: New England’s deep cornerback group hurts Eric Rowe’s chances for a returnNew,9commentsRowe’s time with the Patriots might come to an end after three years.ESTShareTweetShareSharePatriots 2019 free agency profile: New England’s deep cornerback group hurts Eric Rowe’s chances for a returnJasen Vinlove-USA TODAY SportsThe New England Patriots ended the 2018 season in the best possible way, by defeating the Los Angeles Rams to win Super Bowl 53. In order to stay on top of the NFL mountain, though, the organization will have to quickly turn the page to get itself into a position to create the best possible team for the 2019 season. And a big part of building such a team is mastering the upcoming free agency.If judged by the list of free agents to be, New England’s front office will be busy over the next week before the new league year officially is kicked off on March 13. Also over the next week, we will take a look at the free agents-to-be to find out who may or may not get re-signed by the Patriots; and who should be a part of the 2019 squad. Today, we’ll continue the series with cornerback Eric Rowe.#25 Eric Rowe2019 opening day age: 262018 playing time: 4 regular season games; 48.4% defensive snaps (pre-injury)2018 statistics: 10 tackles; 7 catches of 11 targets, 106 yards, 2 touchdowns2018 cap number: $1.10 millionAfter the free agency departure of Malcolm Butler Brandon Bolden Jerseys 2019 , Eric Rowe earned the Patriots’ number two cornerback role to open the 2018 season. In only the second game of the season, however, he suffered a groin injury that kept him out of the next three games. Rowe returned in week six, but played a limited role as New England’s fourth cornerback. He appeared the following week as well before returning to inactivity, and ultimately being placed on injured reserve in late October.Why should he be re-signed? Rowe has generally been a solid option as a second or third cornerback for the Patriots when on the field, and his past productivity in combination with three years worth of experience in New England’s system could still have value to the club. Furthermore, the former second-round draft pick has upside as a bigger cornerback able to play in a press-man scheme.Why should he be let go? Even though the Patriots lost Rowe midway through the 2018 season, their defensive backfield did not skip a beat — quite the opposite: the cornerback group of Jason McCourty, J.C. Jackson and Jonathan Jones alongside number one Stephon Gilmore was one of the best in football even without the veteran. Rowe’s lengthy injury history is also not helping his chances for a return.Projection: While Rowe displayed plenty of potential time and again during his three seasons with the Patriots, New England’s deep cornerback group in combination with his injury history will likely prompt the team to go another direction. Rowe will likely leave the club to sign a two-year contract elsewhere, worth around $3.0 million per year.