While the Browns relaxed during the bye week

Cleveland Browns T-Shirt , their fired former coach went back to work.Hue Jackson's got a new gig.And this strange season in Cleveland will take another odd turn Sunday when the Browns face the Bengals and Jackson, who somehow survived an 0-16 season and was only briefly unemployed before being hired last week as a special assistant to Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis."It is Hue," defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah said.But even though Jackson has changed back into Bengals stripes, the Browns aren't worried that their ex-coach on the sideline gives Cincinnati an added advantage."It's a divisional game!" cried Browns safety Damarious Randall. "We knew what they were doing before he went over there and they know exactly what we're going to do. At the end of the day, we're just going to go out and punch them in the mouth 鈥?straight up. That's exactly what you have to do on the road rivalry games. You have to go punch them in the mouth."If that's what we do, it doesn't matter what they have over there."Jackson's same-season reunion against the Browns seems to be unprecedented. The NFL doesn't keep record of coaches facing their former teams."It is surprising," Browns guard Kevin Zeitler said.The Browns (3-6-1) returned from their week off healthier than they've been all season, and there was even chatter inside the locker room about making a playoff run over the next six weeks.First, though, comes a somewhat awkward reunion with Jackson, who was fired on Oct. 29, a day after the Browns lost in Pittsburgh. Jackson's dismissal wasn't unexpected, given his struggles in Cleveland.But his return to Cincinnati, where Jackson worked as offensive coordinator with the Bengals (5-5) under Lewis before he was hired by the Browns in 2016, has created two matchups in which the spotlight will be focused on him 鈥?whether he likes it or not.Jackson had a good rapport with his players in Cleveland and several on Monday said they were thrilled he landed on his feet so quickly."It will feel a little awkward, but I'm very happy for coach Jackson Cleveland Browns Hats ," cornerback T.J. Carrie said. "He is a great coach and a great person. It was not going to be a long time before he wasn't without a job, so it is really good just to be able to see him in a position where he is being able to control a lot of the things over there."Jackson's intimate knowledge of Cleveland's personnel, schemes and playbook would seem to give the Bengals an almost unfair benefit.But like Randall, Carrie said AFC North games are decided by which team executes better and not by any insider knowledge.Carrie doesn't think Jackson jumping teams makes any difference."These divisional games, we play year in and year out twice a year," he said. "We know what they are going to do. They know what we are going to do. There is not really more scheme-wise that they can really dive into that we can surprise them with. It is all going to be about going out there and playing smash-mouth football."Interim Browns coach Gregg Williams said he was "happy" for Jackson and called him a "very smart coach." However, he said the Browns won't change any of their play call or audibles and Jackson's familiarity with the Browns won't make much difference once the game starts."There is nothing private in our world anymore," Williams said. "Every single clip of film is out there for everybody to watch. It is about execution. We have to go and execute. Even in practices, our guys know what the guys on the other side of the ball are going to be doing, but they get out-executed at times."Randall said Jackson's impact will be minimal.It's not him vs. the Browns, it's the Bengals vs. the Browns."The game is on 11-on-11 up on the field and I don't feel like them having him over there is going to give them no type of edge," he said."It is what it is. They see what we do up on film. Whatever they need to know, they can watch film and see it. We don't got nothing to hide over here, we're here to play football and that's exactly what we're going to do."NOTES: Williams said he intends to interview for Cleveland's full-time job once the season ends. Last week, general manager John Dorsey said Williams had earned an interview with the job he's done since stepping in. ... The starting left tackle job remains an open competition between rookie Desmond Harrison and Greg Robinson, who started the past two games before the bye.AFC North Roundup: September 6 Cleveland Browns Hoodie , 2018 Thursday night marks the opening of the 2018 NFL season, but the AFC North will have to wait until Sunday to take the field for the first time. The Browns play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers, while the Cincinnati Bengals face the Colts in Indianapolis and the Baltimore Ravens are at home against the Buffalo Bills. Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot to talk about ahead of each team’s regular-season debuts. Here’s the most need-to-know for the Steelers, Ravens and Bengals for Week 1.Pittsburgh Steelers: The big news of the week ahead of Sunday’s Steelers-Browns matchup is the continued absence of Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell. Bell, who has skipped all of training camp and the preseason for the second straight year—a response to being given the franchise tag for the second straight year—did not report as anticipated on Wednesday and isn’t going to be with the team for Week 1. And, as Behind the Steel Curtain’s Simon Chester reported, that holdout may extend well into the regular season. Bell’s agent, Adisa Bakari, said to SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday that he may not show up until Week 10, right up against the deadline to allow Bell to play this year. This has created drama, not just among fans but also Bell’s teammates. Chester broke down the numerous comments made Wednesday by Steelers offensive linemen about Bell, including guard Ramon Foster calling Bell “selfish,” and guard David DeCastro suggesting the back sit out the whole season. Second-year player James Conner will get the start at running back against the Browns on Sunday.Baltimore Ravens: SBNation’s Thomas George made a case for why the Ravens and veteran quarterback Joe Flacco “still need each other,” but the future of the position in Baltimore is approaching rapidly. That began when the Ravens moved up in the first round of this spring’s NFL Draft to snag quarterback Lamar Jackson with the 32nd-overall pick. Now, Jackson is the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart Youth Customized Cleveland Browns Jerseys , with Robert Griffin III the No. 3. That makes Jackson the next man up if Flacco suffers an injury or takes yet another step back in his performance. Baltimore Beatdown’s Kyle P. Barber also examined the rest of the Ravens’ depth chart maneuverings post-roster cutdowns, and noted that center and left tackle are both areas of weakness. It also appears that tight end Nick Boyle will get the start while rookie Hayden Hurst continues to work his way back from surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot.Meanwhile, Logan Levy looks to the ghosts of Ravens past and wonders whether the Ravens failed to adequately develop 2015 Round 1 draft pick, receiver Breshad Perriman, or if it was a draft-day failure that could not have been avoided. Perriman remains a free agent after being released by the Ravens in Saturday’s final roster cuts.Cincinnati Bengals: One of the Bengals’ key defensive starters will be sidelined for the first quarter of the 2018 season, with linebacker Vontaze Burfict serving a four-game suspension for violating the league’s PED policy. Though Burfict is no stranger to suspensions and the rules that go along with them, not everyone knows what is or is not permitted of suspended players. Cincy Jungle’s Rebecca Toback listed them off this week, which include Burfict being banned from attending any NFL games during the four-week ban even as a spectator in the stands.One of the Bengals’ goals this year is to field a much-improved offensive line. In 2017, the team ranked just 31st in rushing yards, while Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was sacked 39 times. And newly-minted Bengals starting right guard Alex Redmond has an idea of what will help these efforts: Coaching. Per Cincy Jungle’s Nick Manchester, Redmond’s rise to the starting ranks is due in part to new offensive line coach Frank Pollack appreciating his physical aggressiveness. Former line coach Paul Alexander, fired in January? Not so much. Redmond said, “I’ve had other coaches in the past tell me to be something I wasn’t and they’re gone now, thankfully.”