Browns vs. Chiefs: Relive the Baker Mayfield vs. Patrick Mahomes college classic

The Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs will square off on Sunday but it’s not the first time Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes went at it.

Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes are set to face off for the fourth time in their respective careers. They faced off in Mayfield’s rookie year in 2018, in a game that Mahomes won. They also faced off twice in college, once in 2015 and once in 2016. Both those times Mayfield got the win. Across the years, whether Mayfield played for The Browns or the Sooners, or Mahomes played for The Chiefs or the Red Raiders, the two quarterbacks have quietly built a rivalry based on respect.

Their most iconic meeting, before their contest Sunday, was a showdown on Oct 23, 2016. There, Mayfield’s Oklahoma Sooners took on Mahomes’ Texas Tech Red Raiders. It was a shootout all day with both men posting insane stat lines.

Mayfield threw for 545 yards, with 7 touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes. Mahomes threw 88 times, completing 52 of those for 59% of his passes while throwing five touchdowns and one interception. Mahomes also put up 85 yards rushing (leading the team) and another two touchdowns.

They weren’t the only stars of the game though, as Bengals running back Joe Mixon had a huge day as well. Mixon rushed for 263 yards on 31 carries while scoring two times on the ground. Mixon wasn’t done though, as he also had 114 yards receiving for another three touchdowns.

DeDe Westbrook of the Jaguars was Mayfield’s primary target, putting up 202 yards receiving and two touchdowns on the day. He wasn’t the only other NFL pro that Mayfield played with, in fact, there were two other AFC North players in this game.

Current Ravens tight end Mark Andrews was the tight end for the Sooners, but he only caught two passes for 24 yards. While, former Browns and current Bengals kicker Austin Seibert was also part of the game, punting the ball twice, making one field goal, and hitting 7 of 8 extra-point attempts.

Both teams, and both quarterbacks especially, broke a lot of records. Mayfield threw for seven touchdowns a record at the time for Oklahoma University. Mixon became only the third player in FBS in the prior 20 years to rush for 250 yards and receive 100 yards. Mahomes broke the FBS record of most yards generated by a player in a game with 800, while his 734 yards passing tied the record. (*All records accurate as of 2016)

These two men are in the beginnings of their careers. Mahomes won the Super Bowl in his third season and a league MVP in his second. Mayfield on the other hand is the first quarterback in nearly thirty years to win a playoff game in Cleveland and in just three short years, is hacking his way through the franchise record books.

Both men will show the world what they’re about on Sunday, in a game that will surely be a shootout.

Something both men are familiar with.