Oklahoma football: Former OU teammates stand out in NFL wins
By Chip Rouse
Two former Oklahoma teammates helped lead their NFL teams to Week 4 wins on Sunday.
Baker Mayfield threw a couple of touchdown passes in leading the Cleveland Browns to a dramatic 49-38 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Meanwhile, about 1,000 miles to the northeast, in Cincinnati, Ohio, former Sooner teammate Joe Mixon ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns as the hometown Bengals picked up their first win of the season, 33-25, over the Carolina Panthers.
Mayfield completed 19 of 31 passes against the Cowboys for 165 yards. It was his third straight game with two TD passes. His has seven total for the season after four games.
A native of the Austin, Texas, area, Mayfield was playing his first professional game back in Texas at AT&T Stadium in Dallas since leading Oklahoma to the 2017 Big 12 championship at that same venue. The Sooners beat TCU 41-17 that year to win their third consecutive Big 12 title with Mayfield at quarterback.
Mixon averaged 6.0 yards on the ground in the Bengals’ win on Sunday. He also had a receiving touchdown on a nine-yard swing pass from quarterback Joe Burrow. The former Sooner running back accounted for 18 of Cincinnati’s 33 points. The three TDs on the day were his first of the season.
Mayfield and Mixon were teammates at Oklahoma in 2015 and 2016. Mixon was selected by the Bengals in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft, the 48th overall pick that year. Mayfield was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
The Browns and the Bengals are in the same division in the NFL’s American Football Conference, so they get to face off with each other twice every season. The two rivals have already played once this season, with the Browns winning 35-30. In that game, Mayfield completed 16 of 23 passes for 219 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Mixon gained 46 rushing yards and caught four passes in that game.