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Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb combined for more than 200 rushing yards and four touchdowns and the Cleveland Browns held off a late Cincinnati Bengals rally for a win on Thursday Night Football. Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow threw three touchdowns, but also attempted 61 passes in the 35-30 loss Thursday at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.
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"I didn't get a chance to watch [Burrow] last week, but I heard rave reviews," Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield told reporters.
"You could tell and it is true: the hype is real."
The former LSU signal caller led the Bengals on a 15-play drive to open the AFC North showdown. The Bengals ended that drive with a 38-yard Randy Bullock field goal before the Browns responded with a 90-yard touchdown drive, capped off by an 11-yard Chubb rushing score.
Mayfield launched a 43-yard touchdown pass to Odell Beckham Jr. on Cleveland's next drive for a 14-3 edge three minutes into the second quarter.
Burrow orchestrated a six-play, 57-yard touchdown drive on the Bengals' next possession. He completed a 23-yard throw to C.J. Uzomah for his first career touchdown pass to end that drive.
Mayfield threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Hunt 1:36 before halftime to give the Browns a 21-10 advantage. Bullock then made a 43-yard field goal for Cincinnati six seconds before halftime to make the score 21-13 at the break.
Both offenses struggled in the third quarter, but the Browns took advantage of a Bengals turnover and good field position with another Chubb rushing score to push their lead to 28-13 with 5:49 remaining in the frame.
Bullock then made a 27-yard attempt just before the end of the quarter to spark a run of 10 unanswered points for the Bengals.
Mayfield threw an interception on the next drive. The Bengals responded with a 14-play, 69-yard scoring drive. Burrow connected with Michael Thomas on a four-yard touchdown pass to end that drive and cut the Browns lead to five points.
The Browns then turned back to the running game on their next possession and used a one-yard Chubb touchdown run to push their lead back to double digits.
The Bengals answered with a 16-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to cut the deficit to 35-30, but failed to convert a late onside kick and get the ball back as time expired in the fourth quarter. Burrow threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd for his third touchdown of the night on the Bengals' final drive.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft completed 37 of his 61 attempts for 316 yards, three scores and no interceptions in the loss.
"Joe Burrow is really a good football player," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. "He is a gamer. He is always coming at you, making plays with his feet and throwing the ball. I am very impressed with that young man."
Mayfield completed 16 of 23 passes for 219 yards, two scores and an interception. Chubb had 22 carries for 124 yards and two scores. Hunt had 10 carries for 86 yards and a score. He also had two catches for 15 yards and a score.
"I think we did a great job running the ball as a team. It starts with the offensive line," Chubb said. "Those guys did a great job getting push for us. They were leaning on guys. They opened up so many holes for us. There were holes everywhere."
The Browns (1-1) host the Washington Football Team on Sept. 27 at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Bengals (0-2) face the Philadelphia Eagles at 1 p.m. EDT Sept. 27 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
"I will never adjust or accept losing," Burrow said. "That is just something that is not in my mindset so this 0-2 start is really hurting me.
"I know it is hurting Coach and everybody in there. We will never adjust to losing. We will never accept losing We are just going to have to get it right."
