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 White Drew Sample Jersey , 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.“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, 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 Drew Sample Jersey Mens , ‘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, 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 Billy Price Jersey , 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. CINCINNATI (AP) — A.J. Green has a collection of stories about quarterback Jeff Driskel’s athletic exploits, such as the way he can dribble between his legs and dunk.Or outrun teammates. Or play multiple positions in practice.Green suggested that Driskel might be the best all-around athlete on the Bengals.“Nice,” Driskel said in response. “But I don’t know about that.”Everybody will find out about Driskel on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium when he makes his first career start against the Denver Broncos (5-6), a matchup of teams headed in opposite directions as the final month of the season approaches.The third-year veteran is filling in the rest of the way after Andy Dalton injured the thumb on his passing hand.The reeling Bengals (5-6) have lost five of six because of significant injuries and breakdowns on offense, defense and special teams. They got steamrolled at home by the lowly Browns last Sunday, with Dalton hurting his thumb while trying to recover a fumble.It’s up to the backup quarterback to keep the Bengals’ slim hopes alive.“Jeff is the most athletic guy on our team,” said Green, who expects to play Sunday after missing three games with a toe injury. “He’s a guy who can play any position, has a strong arm, very smart. My job is to go out there and make his job easy.”Although the teams have identical records, they’re on totally different trajectories .The Broncos are coming off a 23-22 win over the Chargers in Los Angeles and a 24-17 home victory over the AFC North-leading Steelers . They seemed all but eliminated after a 3-6 start, but have been given a second — and final — chance to salvage their season.A win on Sunday is mandatory for a team that’s starting to feel it can still accomplish big things.“You kind of want guys to walk with their chest out, right?” Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders said. “But at the same time, you’ve got to have perspective. There’s a difference between confidence and arrogance.”Some things to watch on Sunday:CAREFUL KEENUMCase Keenum was picked off 11 times in the first eight games but hasn’t thrown an interception in the past three, a thread in the Broncos’ revival. Keenum is getting more comfortable, and it’s rubbing off on the rest of the offense. He faces the NFL’s worst defense on Sunday. Baker Mayfield threw for four touchdowns without an interception in Cleveland’s 35-20 win last week at Paul Brown Stadium. Keenum’s goal is to keep up the trend.“I’m throwing it to our guys Jessie Bates Jersey , not throwing it to the other team,” Keenum said. “Who knew?”KEEP RAMBLINGBroncos running back Phillip Lindsay ranks second among NFL rookies with 780 yards rushing. Clinton Portis set the club record for yards rushing by a rookie with 1,508 in 2002. Lindsay has 967 yards from scrimmage, leaving him on the verge of becoming the eighth Broncos rookie with 1,000 in a season and the first since Knowshon Moreno had 1,160 in 2009.DRISKEL’S DEBUTAfter Dalton left the game last Sunday with his thumb injury, Driskel threw his first NFL touchdown pass and ran for another score. He had problems getting the offense on the same page — five false-start penalties in the fourth quarter alone.Some rust was expected with a quarterback who hadn’t worked with the starting offense all season. The biggest challenge will be staying calm enough to keep everything under control. Driskel’s had a week to think about his first NFL start, so the Bengals expect some nerves early.“If it was me, I’d be more nervous if I knew all week,” offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said. “I’d have more butterflies.”GREEN’S RETURNThe Bengals’ offense struggled during the three games Green missed. His return — even if he’s not 100 percent — would impact the game significantly. The Bengals are a far more dangerous offense when Green is lining up.“Absolutely they are,” Broncos coach Vance Joseph said. “He’s no different than Antonio Brown. You have to take him out of the game, and if not he can beat you.”STRONG SCHEDULESOnly one team — the Broncos — have faced a tougher schedule so far than the Bengals, based on opponents’ winning percentage. The Broncos’ opponents are 69-50-1 for a .579 winning percentage. The Bengals’ opponents are 67-52-2 for a .562 winning percentage.The Broncos just became the first team since the winless 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers to face three consecutive opponents riding at least a five-game winning streak.After Houston escaped Denver with its sixth straight win after Brandon McManus‘ 51-yard field goal sailed wide right, the Broncos bounced back to end six-game winning streaks by the Chargers and Steelers.