CINCINNATI (AP) — With their defense unable to stop anybody White Josh Gordon Jerseys , the Buccaneers fired their coordinator and got a better showing — and a slump-busting win — the next time out.The Bengals won’t be doing anything so drastic, even though they’ve got significant issues that came to the forefront during their second-worst drubbing under coach Marvin Lewis. All they can do is hope players get healthy and things get better before it all slips away.Their matchup Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium could be a pivotal moment heading into the season’s midpoint.“I still believe we’re in great shape,” Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd said. “I don’t think we’re a bad team or we’re coming off a week we can’t overcome. But we’ve got to tighten up now.”Tampa Bay (3-3) ended a three-game slide that cost defensive coordinator Mike Smith his job. He was replaced last week by former Bucs assistant coach Mark Duffner, who simplified the game plan. The Buccaneers held Cleveland to 305 total yards and had five sacks during a 26-23 overtime victory .The showing was encouraging, and so is the upcoming schedule. Tampa Bay is nearing the end of a stretch of four road games out of five, with one more at Carolina next week. Then the Buccaneers play four of five at home.“How we won the game Sunday — if we continue doing that, I think we’ll be fine,” said defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who has had a sack in each of the last five games.It’s not so clear cut for the Bengals (4-3), who have squandered much of their fast start with a last-minute home loss to Pittsburgh and a 45-10 loss at Kansas City last Sunday night. The defense got shredded for 551 yards, the offense managed a season-low 239 total yards, and there were missed tackles and botched plays that figured in their second-biggest margin of defeat during Lewis’ 16 seasons.The game on Sunday begins a favorable stretch for the Bengals: four of five at home. They’ve already fallen out of first place in the AFC North and can’t slip any more behind.“This game is important for us, and we want to end the first half of the season the right way,” quarterback Andy Dalton said.Five things to watch at Paul Brown Stadium:BETTER DThe Buccaneers’ defense was much better vs. Cleveland, but it still ranks last in pass defense. Middle linebacker Kwon Alexander and backup linebacker Jack Cichy suffered season-ending knee injuries against the Browns Josh Gordon Jerseys 2019 , forcing a shuffle at the position. Adarius Taylor moves from outside linebacker to the middle, and Devante Bond — who rejoined the team last week after being released in September — takes over at the outside spot.“That’s a great linebacker we lost,” Pierre-Paul said of Alexander.THIRD TIMEJameis Winston makes his third start since returning from a suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. The Buccaneers’ offense is ranked No. 1 in the league. Winston threw for 365 yards against the Browns but was sacked four times, threw a pair of interceptions and lost a fumble, a reminder of his biggest problem: turnovers.“It’s costing us points and putting us at risk,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken said.DALTON’S CHALLENGEDalton got off to his best start since 2015 , throwing for 11 touchdowns in the first four games. The offense has stalled in the last three, with Dalton throwing for only four touchdowns. The Bengals have been hurt by the loss of two tight ends and running back Giovani Bernard. They were one-dimensional in the drubbing at Kansas City, with receiver A.J. Green accounting for 110 of their 139 total yards in the first half. They’ll be looking to get running back Joe Mixon and the other receivers more heavily involved against the Buccaneers.“A.J. is going to get his — he deserves it, and he should,” Dalton said. “He’s a big part of why this offense has been successful throughout the years. But if we can spread the ball around, it helps.”FLAT AND FLATTENEDThe Bengals’ defense played its sloppiest game in Kansas City, with missed tackles helping the Chiefs pile up those 551 yards. Cincinnati’s defense is ranked second to last in the league in yards allowed and third worst in points allowed.“We’ve just got to have that fire,” cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick said. “We didn’t play with enough fire.”OLD FRIENDSLewis and Bucs coach Dirk Koetter have been close friends since they were teammates at Idaho State from 1978-80. They were in each other’s weddings. They remain close even as they get set to try to beat each other.“When you’re playing each other, I don’t know if you’d say it’s special because both guys want their team to win White Jonathan Jones Jerseys ,” Koetter said. “We’ll be rooting against each other.” Back when their chances of playing quarterback in the NFL were still in the dream stages, Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield sat in an apartment near Texas Tech's campus and played video games.It was 2013.Three years later, they appeared to do the same thing on the field."It was a basketball score," Mayfield recalled."That game was crazy," Mahomes said, remembering the October night in 2016 when he and Mayfield re-wrote the NCAA record book.The quarterbacks and friends will renew their old rivalry — and perhaps embark on a new one as pros — Sunday when Mahomes leads Kansas City and the Chiefs' high-flying, high-octane offense, into Cleveland to play Mayfield and the Browns, who are again in disarray following the firings this week of coach Hue Jackson and coordinator Todd Haley.The previous time they met between the hash marks, Mahomes and Mayfield put on a stunning statistical show unlike anything college football had seen before.They combined for 12 touchdown passes, 1,279 yards passing and broke the total yardage mark with 1,708 yards — 854 for each school.Looking back, Mayfield, who threw seven TD passes to Mahomes' five and led the Sooners to a 66-59 win Jonathan Jones Jerseys 2019 , still can't fathom what happened."That was my 'Welcome back to Lubbock' moment," said Mayfield, who began his college career as a walk-on at Texas Tech before transferring."Weird things happen in Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday nights. It is pretty funny, Oklahoma goes back to Lubbock this weekend and then I am playing Pat on Sunday."Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who has replaced Jackson as Cleveland's interim coach, shook his head in disbelief when given details of the Mahomes-Mayfield shootout."Oh, my gosh," he said. "Setting defenses back a thousand years."No one — not even the quarterbacks themselves — could have envisioned their first meeting five years ago when Mayfield hosted Mahomes on his recruiting trip to Texas Tech would blossom into a friendship and maybe the NFL's next great QB duel.Mayfield was aware of Mahomes' background and talent — son of a major league baseball player, bazooka-like arm — but then got to know him personally during that weekend visit. What Mayfield quickly learned was that, like him, Mahomes is a natural leader."Patrick has always been an easygoing guy," Mayfield said. "That is why those teammates he has always had play for him so hard. He gets their respect not just based on talent — that's easy to respect — but based on who he is as a person. He just has that presence about him that you want to be around. You gravitate towards that so it is fun to see him grow."And my, has Mahomes grown.The 22-year-old leads the league with 26 TD passes and 2 White Ja’Whaun Bentley Jersey ,526 yards. He threw six TD passes in Week 2 against Pittsburgh, and Mahomes has made as many jaw-dropping, highlight-reel worthy plays this season as many QBs have in a career.Mahomes' arm strength has drawn rave reviews. Ask any coach, player, scout or reporter who has seen him play about him, and there's usually a tale about one of his throws.Mayfield said he's "absolutely" jealous of Mahomes' rocket right arm."There was a play in that college game, he was rolling to his left, flicked it and it went about 65 in the air for a touchdown back of the end zone," Mayfield said, remembering the OU-Texas Tech classic in '16. "He does stuff that you can't even think of even being possible."Mayfield was surprised Mahomes wasn't taken in 2017 with the No. 1 pick, which ended up being Browns defensive end Myles Garrett."Talent-wise, I thought he should have been. I love Myles but," Mayfield said with a smile."Coming from the Texas Tech system, there are always your skeptics about people doubting the fact that all he did was sit back there and throw the ball. He threw it 88 times in our game, but when it comes down to it Ja’Whaun Bentley Jersey 2019 , throwing the ball is throwing the ball, and he is really good at it."So is Mayfield.While Mahomes only started one game as a rookie last season, Mayfield was thrust into the lineup in Week 3 when Tyrod Taylor was hurt.Mayfield doesn't have nearly the same supporting cast as Mahomes, but he's put up respectable numbers and feels he's learning with every snap."His talent is through the roof," Mahomes said of Mayfield. "He is going to keep getting better every single week. He has already had a lot of success. The sky is the limit for him."On Sunday, they'll go at it again — pass for pass, play for play — in what appears to be a mismatch with the Chiefs rolling and the Browns reeling.But beyond the score, the NFL could get its first glimpse at a budding QB rivalry. It's not Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning, but that one started somewhere too."I would absolutely not say that it going to be Brady-Manning right now, but it is humbling to be in that conversation," Mayfield said."If he keeps playing that way, there is no reason why it would not be on his side of things. Now, I just have to pick up my side and play better."