The Cleveland Browns picked up a revenge victory against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, with one Ohio team beating the other, 35-20 -- but the game also gave the Browns plenty of opportunities to take shots at their former head coach.
Browns defensive back Damarious Randall was the first Cleveland player to jab Hue Jackson, who was fired by the Browns earlier this season and now works as a consultant under Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis.
Randall intercepted a ball thrown by Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton in the second quarter, ran out of bounds to his left and then flipped the ball to Jackson -- who didn’t appear to appreciate the gesture.
“That’s just something I always said I was going to do,” Randall told the Cleveland Plain-Dealer after the game. “I never gave him one when he was with the Browns, so I felt he needed one.”
Jackson thanked Randall for the ball, according to the newspaper.
Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield also caused some controversy after the game when he refused to embrace Jackson when they met on the field.
When the two met in the middle of the field, Jackson appeared to go in for a hug, while Mayfield appeared to be fine with just a handshake.
Mayfield admitted after the game he wasn’t happy with Jackson taking a job with the Bengals.
“Left Cleveland, goes down to Cincinnati, I don’t know. It’s just somebody that was in our locker room, asking for us to play for him and then goes to a different team we play twice a year,” he told reporters, according to the Plain-Dealer. “Everybody can have their spin on it but that’s how I feel.”
Mayfield threw four touchdown passes in the win.