It should be hard to get revenge on a fired head coach, but nothing is impossible when it comes to Hue Jackson. The former Browns coach, fired earlier this season by Cleveland after managing just three wins in two years and change, was the target of revenge by his former team on Sunday after he defected within the division, joining the Bengals as a “special assistant” to Marvin Lewis.
Jackson’s move isn’t unusual — lots of coaches who are fired move on to roles like that with other teams. But not a lot of them move within the division in the same year when they’re slated to play their old team twice in the final six weeks of the season. Jackson did just that, and it’s clear the Browns players weren’t pleased with the move.
Some of the guys talked a little bit about their feelings prior to the week, but the distaste for Jackson emerged pretty quickly in the game. Cornerback Damarious Randall picked off Andy Dalton in the first half and, instead of cutting upfield with the ball to pick up more yardage, spotted some would-be tacklers and ducked out of bounds before flipping the ball to Hue.
The former coach didn’t appear to understand it wasn’t Randall being nice, which is just perfect. Actually perfect is the handshake between Jackson and Baker Mayfield following the game. Mayfield was reportedly “not upset” at Jackson getting canned; you could tell from the start of the season, during “Hard Knocks” even, Mayfield was lukewarm on Jackson’s coaching.
After the game, Hue sought Baker out, tried to give him a hug and Mayfield, who had dapped it up with Vontaze Burfict just moments before, gave Hue the old “Oh, hello there. I hope you’re well” handshake.
Mayfield said after the game there were some hard feelings because of Hue’s decision to go coach a team the Browns were set to play.
“Left Cleveland, goes down to Cincinnati. I dunno. That’s someone who was in our locker room asking us to play for him and then goes to a different team that we play twice a year,” Mayfield said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “Everyone can have their spin on it, but that’s how I feel.”
This might not be the last time Mayfield gets up to play against Jackson either.
“It’s just like any rivalry game,” Mayfield said. “That’s how it is now. That’s how I’m going to treat it every time we play him, but there’s no hate. That’s just how it is. That’s how I’m going to treat it and I think that’s how the team should treat it too.”
And make no mistake — despite me burying the lede here, Mayfield’s play was a bigger story than just getting revenge on Hue. The rookie quarterback was excellent for Cleveland.
In the first half, Mayfield went 17 for 21 for 245 yards and three touchdowns, including this gem to Antonio Callaway, a beautiful toss where he showed off his ability to throw from any platform.
Mayfield became the first Browns quarterback since the team returned to Cleveland to throw for 200 yards and two touchdowns in the first half of a game. Mayfield tied Bernie Kosar’s streak of consecutive games with a passing touchdown (eight) and he tied the NFL record for consecutive games with multiple passing touchdowns (five) for a rookie.
But this wasn’t just a single-game vengeance play. Mayfield has been substantially better since Jackson and OC Todd Haley were fired. Mayfield is now the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to record a passer rating of 140 or higher in two consecutive games and he’s the first Browns quarterback since Vinny Testaverde in 1994-95 to throw for multiple touchdowns in five straight starts. Mayfield’s have come in his last five games, three of which have happened since Hue was fired.
| Att/Comp (%) | Yards/Game | Yards/Att | TD-INT | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mayfield with Hue |
113/200 (56.5) |
254 |
6.4 |
8-6 |
1-4 |
|
Mayfield After Hue |
65/88 (73.9) |
257 |
8.8 |
9-1 |
2-1 |
The difference is stark. And so is the difference between the Browns now, a team appearing to crawl out of the darkness, and the Browns before they fired Jackson. For years, Cleveland’s been the NFL’s punching bag and a layup for jokes on Twitter.
I’m here to tell you something I’ve been saying since the preseason: it’s time for the Cowboys to move over, because the Browns are America’s new team.
Mayfield is a polarizing quarterback, but if you don’t like him, that’s a YOU problem. Nick Chubb is going to be a superstar running back as early as next year; he’s been nothing but a monster since he was moved into the starting lineup after the Carlos Hyde trade. Myles Garrett will contend for DPOY honors on the reg, and there are any number of fascinating guys on this roster, like Randall, who are willing to make watching football fun.
The Cowboys became popular in the early ’90s as they rose to success out of nowhere. Let’s all bask in the Browns becoming good again. Except Hue Jackson, who definitely shouldn’t be allowed to claim any part of the success when the Browns end up making a mini playoff run this year. For that to happen, the Browns will definitely need to beat Jackson and the Bengals again in Week 16, a game you can stream on fuboTV (Try for free).
People really are going to get hot and bothered about Mayfield’s beef with Jackson — Mayfield transferred from Texas Tech to Oklahoma after all — but I’m here to tell you that rooting against Mayfield is a mistake you’re going to regret later on. The Browns are set to be a fun team for the next five to 10 years. If they hire the right coach this offseason (Bruce Arians anyone?) there’s a chance for this bandwagon to skyrocket. Get on board now.
Celebration of the week
Not sure when the NFL celebration thing is going to jump the shark — I’m not a huge fan of the “class photo” thing that defenses do, but whatever — and maybe the answer is it won’t. Maybe there are so many good moments in history that, no matter how many touchdowns are scored, we can always see NFL players recreate them.
Like the time Allen Iverson crossed up and stepped over Tyronn Lue in the NBA Finals. Gold from the Seahawks here.
Source : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/sorting-the-sunday-pile-week-12-browns-are-americas-new-team-baker-gets-revenge-on-hue-jackson/
