Willkommen! » 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 David Njoku Jersey , 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 Larry Ogunjobi Color Rush Jersey , 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, 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 Sheldrick Redwine Jersey , 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.” This past week there has been a fair amount of bellyaching about the Cleveland Browns’ hotshot rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield.Of course it wasn’t enough that Mayfield had just tossed four touchdown passes (to four different receivers with no INTs) he also apparently needed to pretend that his former (and historically terrible) head coach Hue Jackson didn’t tamp down his development just before going on a scorched-earth media tour which preceded his going to our division rival.Baker was expected to hug it out anyway or else face accusations of immaturity (and worse). I get into all this in the Thursday Ez Does It.Generally speaking I don’t have much care what media types think about our situation, but in this instance I’m pretty great with a continuance of the complaining.Baker Mayfield is throwing down one of the most impressive rookie seasons for a QB as has ever been.It’s not just the (off the charts) talent http://www.brownsfanshop.com/Sione-Takitaki-Jersey , or even the legendary drive associated with being the only walk-on to (start an FBS opener as a true freshman or) win the Heisman.It’s also his ability to elevate the play of those around him, which seems have started the moment ‘ol Hue was sent packing. However when the media tear into him for his completely logical and understandable reactions, it only serves to fuel a team already fully bought-in to Mayfield as the unquestioned team leader.It galvanizes a locker room and reinforces the ‘us-vs-the-world’ rallying cry.It’s obnoxiously wrong and lacking in perspective but it helps our cause so I’m great with it continuing.I hope Colin Cowherd keeps pretending he doesn’t see what he’s seeing.In fact his shtick is so worn thin that support has come even from a division rival player (and former Sooner teammate)That Baker got a player from Baltimore to defend him is over the top awesome in it’s own right, and that’s just a footnote in the saga.However it does illustrate how much every teammate he’s ever had absolutely LOVES him.When his current comrades see all this nonsense, ESPECIALLY when they were in that locker room when Hue was running it and thus don’t need anyone to tell them how things were, it draws the team together even more, and rallies them behind said hotshot rookie quarterback.Speaking of Hue, here’s the story I cite at the beginning of this ‘cast:Hue Jackson’s final meeting with TV crew reveals how broken the Browns were before he got fired (Yahoo)Appreciate feedback in the comments’ section, thanks for listening!