Cleveland lost only five regular-season games last year, two were against the Ravens, and Baltimore has beaten Cleveland more than any other team. The Browns are better, but the big question is whether they are good enough to beat the Ravens in Baltimore. With so much on the line for the home team–and with Lamar back under center–I think the answer is ‘no.’
WHAT: Week 12, Game 11 vs. Cleveland Browns
WHEN: 8:20 p.m. (ET); Sunday, November 28
WHERE: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore (70,745)
RECORDS: Browns, 6-5; Ravens, 7-3
LIFETIME SERIES (regular season): Ravens lead, 33-11, and have won four of the last six meetings overall, including the last three straight. In Baltimore, the Ravens are 17-5 against the Browns and, despite splitting their last two Charm City meetings, Baltimore has beaten the Browns on 11 of Cleveland’s last 13 trips to Baltimore.
BALTIMORE AREA TV AND RADIO: WBAL-TV, Channel 11 (Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, booth; Kathryn Tappen, sidelines), WIYY-FM, 97.9 (Gerry Sandusky, Obafemi Ayanbadejo, booth)
REFEREE: Jerome Boger
About the Browns
—Along with the Baltimore Colts and San Francisco 49ers, the Browns franchise was born as part of the All-America Football Conference in 1946. Cleveland won all four of that league’s championships, going on to advance to the NFL title game in its first six years after that, a run of ten straight championship-game appearances.
—Since joining the NFL alongside the Colts and 49ers after a 1950 merger, the Browns have won 18 division titles (none since winning the old AFC Central in 1989) and earned 25 total playoff berths (tied with Washington for the league’s eighth-most) in 70 full NFL seasons. However, the Browns’ recent history has not been nearly as spectacular.
—The Browns are one of four franchises that have never appeared in a Super Bowl (along with Houston, Jacksonville, and Detroit). Cleveland last won an NFL championship in 1964, two seasons before the Super Bowl was born. Until last year, Cleveland had not had a record of .500 or better since going 10-6 in 2007, a year when it still missed the playoffs. Before 2020, the team had not been to the postseason since 2002, their only playoff berth since returning to the league as an expansion team in 1999.
—The Browns are 0-3 in the modern-day AFC Championship Game, losing to Denver in 1986 (“The Drive”), 1987 (“The Fumble”), and 1989 (“The Blowout”). Since returning to the league as a 1999 expansion team. Cleveland has no AFC North titles – the only team in the division to have never won it since it was formed after the 2002 realignment – and has made just two playoff appearances (2002, 2020) with only three winning seasons (2002, 2007, 2020). The Browns had finished last in the North for seven straight years before 2018, last avoiding the cellar before that by going 5-11 in 2010.
—When the Baltimore Colts were part of the NFL, they met the Browns on 15 occasions, winning only five of those games and losing their last five straight matchups with Cleveland before moving to Indianapolis. The teams met three times in postseason play with the Browns winning the 1964 NFL title game at home, 27-0 (the franchise’s last title of any kind), the Colts returning the favor four years later, 34-0, a result that put them into Super Bowl 3, and Baltimore winning a 1971 Divisional round game on the road, 20-3, before getting shut out at Miami, 21-0, in the AFC title game.
—With this division matchup being played in Baltimore, it will continue a trend that will see the return match (second game) being played in Cleveland in five of the past seven years. Despite that, the Ravens have swept this head-to-head series 13 times, including last year, while the Browns have recorded only two sweeps (2001, 2007). There have been seven splits, the most recent occurring in 2015 and again in 2018 and 2019.
—The Ravens’ 33 regular-season wins over Cleveland represent their highest number over any opponent in the league in team history, quite a feat when because the Browns did not even exist during the Ravens’ first three seasons in the league. Naturally, the other two AFC North opponents rank second and third, with Baltimore having defeated Cincinnati 26 times and Pittsburgh on 23 occasions.
—Cleveland will go into its bye week after its game Sunday night in Baltimore, then play at home for three of its last five games. In a quirky bit of scheduling, they play the Ravens on either side of their bye. Cleveland is the second Ravens opponent to get two weeks to prepare for them; Chicago was the other. The Browns have quite a gauntlet to run over their final three games: at Green Bay, at Pittsburgh, home with Cincinnati.
—Cleveland is off to a 6-5 start, having alternated wins and losses over its last five games. Before that, they were more streaky, winning three straight before losing two in a row. Three of Cleveland’s losses have come by a total of 14 points, but the team has also incurred blowout defeats to Arizona and New England. The Browns’ wins have come by an average margin of just over nine points. Last week’s 13-10 win over Detroit marked the sixth time Cleveland has allowed less than 20 points in a game this year.
—The Browns have scored only seven points fewer than they have allowed, 244-251. But included in that are wide margins in the second quarter, where they have outscored their opponents by 103-59, and in the fourth, where they have been outpointed, 52-89. The Browns have scored 29 touchdowns this year but have allowed 32, including 21 through the air. Cleveland is well-balanced on offense, having run the ball 329 times and passing it on 354 occasions (including 31 sacks allowed). Browns’ opponents have run the ball 273 and passed it 384 (including 29 Browns’ sacks allowed).
—Cleveland, in keeping with its mediocre record, is around the middle of the pack as far as turnover ratio is concerned, currently standing at minus-1. The Browns have recorded just ten takeaways, seven of them interceptions (two more than Baltimore). Cleveland has covered only three of their opponents’ 14 fumbles, the same number of recoveries as the Ravens. As far as giveaways are concerned, the Browns have thrown six interceptions and lost five of their 14 fumbles.
—Through the Sunday games in Week 11, Cleveland 80 penalties rank as the league’s second-highest total, one behind league leader Carolina. The team has ten false starts and 16 holding calls, three off the league lead in that category. However, the Browns have not been called for offensive pass interference all season. On defense, Cleveland’s ten pass interference calls are tied for the league’s third-most. Individually, three Browns have more than three penalties, led by defensive tackle Malik McDowell, who has eight, including two roughing-the-passer calls and one unnecessary roughness penalty. Safety Troy Hill has two pass interference calls.
—Through Week 11, the Browns rank 12th in total offense (first rushing at 156.8 yards per game, 25th passing, 19th scoring at 22.2 points per game). Cleveland is possessing the ball for an average of 31:48 per game, the league’s fifth-highest figure. Cleveland has the league’s 19th-best red-zone touchdown rate, but stands at merely 23rd in third-down conversions. The Browns are a middling 16th in first downs per game.
—On defense, Cleveland’s rebuilt unit ranks fourth overall, along with seventh against the rush and eighth against the pass, one of only three teams to be ranked in the top ten in all three categories. Buffalo and New England are the others. In scoring defense, the Browns are ranked 17th, allowing 22.8 points per game. Cleveland has the league’s fifth-worst red-zone defense and the ninth-worst third-down unit, rather unusual for a team that possesses the ball as much as it does. But it does allow only 19.5 first downs per game, the league’s ninth-best rate.
—Kevin Stefanski, a 39-year-old Philadelphia native who is the third-youngest active head coach in the league, took over the reins in 2020 as the Browns’ 12th full-time head coach in its expansion-era franchise history (since 1999) and the 22nd overall. Stefanski was under consideration for hire by Cleveland two years ago before the team settled on Freddie Kitchens. Stefanski had spent the previous 14 years working his way up the Minnesota Vikings’ coaching ladder, serving as offensive coordinator just before moving to Cleveland. As head coach of the Browns, Stefanski is 18-11 (including playoffs) and is 0-2 against Baltimore. Under Stefanski’s leadership in Minnesota, quarterback Kirk Cousins had a career-best passer rating of over 107 and set a franchise record for completions (425). Also, running back Dalvin Cook broke 1000 yards for the first time and was invited to his first Pro Bowl. As a player, Stefanski was a defensive back at the University of Pennsylvania. Notable assistants on Stefanski’s staff include strength and conditioning assistant Evan Marcus (Maryland, 1994), coaching assistant and Bel Air (MD) native Ryan Cordell, run-game coordinator, and former Morgan State head coach Stump Mitchell (1995-98), special teams coordinator Mike Priefer (Navy, 1994-96), and former Oakland Raiders and Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan, the Browns’ offensive line coach.
–-Fourth-year quarterback and 2018 top overall pick Baker Mayfield is a 6-foot-1, 215-pound Heisman Trophy winner from Oklahoma who will battle with another Heisman-winning quarterback, Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson. He has just returned from missing last week’s game in Chicago with an illness. Mayfield has not had a good statistical season, completing 64 percent of his passes with ten touchdowns, six interceptions, 27 sacks, and a 91.3 passer rating, above average but still below many other signal-callers that are considered elite. In six career games against Baltimore, Mayfield has lost four of them, completing 58.5 percent of his passes with ten touchdowns, eight interceptions, eight sacks, and a passer rating of 82.6. He is backed up by multi-team NFL veteran Case Keenum.
—On the ground, the team’s 2018 second-round pick, Nick Chubb (35th overall pick), the cousin of Denver pass rusher Bradley Chubb, has battled through various ailments this fall, including COVID-19 and a calf injury. But Chubb continues to pace the league’s top ground game with 851 rushing yards, a six-yard average per carry, and a half-dozen touchdowns, including a 70-yarder. Chubb had two rushing scores against the Ravens in last year’s meeting in Cleveland.
—A pleasant surprise at the position has been D’Ernest Johnson, in his third year from South Florida, who went undrafted in 2019. He has 320 yards and a pair of scores in limited duty. All told, the Browns have 17 rushing scores, two of them by wideout Jarvis Landry (who has five career rushing scores) and another from Mayfield.
—Cleveland’s explosive downfield corps has been thinned out gradually this year with the groin injury incurred by 2020 sixth-round Michigan pick Donovan Peoples-Jones, the trade of disgruntled Odell Beckham, Jr. to the Los Angeles Rams, and the right calf problem suffered by back Kareem Hunt. He has five rushing scores and could return against the Ravens this week. That’s why tight ends Austin Hooper (late of Atlanta) and David Njoku is first and third on the team in catches with a respective 28 and 24, relatively low totals for team leaders. They each have two of the team’s 11 receiving touchdowns. Njoku is averaging 15 yards per catch and has a 71-yard touchdown to his credit.
—On the outside, veteran Jarvis Landry, who has at least five catches in eight straight games against Baltimore, is second on the squad with 27 receptions, and Hunt is fourth with 20. Neither has a touchdown to this point in the season. Peoples-Jones has three scores, and Rashard Higgins has one touchdown among his 15 catches.
—The Browns’ offensive line went through some health troubles early in the season – tackles Chris Hubbard and Jack Conklin are still on injured reserve – but it appears four members of the original starting quintet (Conklin, who might be back this week, being the exception) are back together to pace the league’s top ground attack. However, it has allowed 31 quarterback sacks. Alabama-bred left tackle Jedrick Willis was taken with the tenth overall pick in 2020, but in place of Conklin on the right side is Northwestern’s Blake Hance, a young journeyman. The latter plays mostly inside and has already been with Buffalo, Washington, Jacksonville, and the New York Jets. Veterans Joel Bitonio and third-year man Wyatt Teller are the guards, and Players Association president JC Tretter remains at center.
—First-round pick (first overall in 2017), two-time Pro Bowl pick, and veteran defensive end Myles Garrett leads a durable, aggressive defensive line, partnered on the other side by multi-team veteran Jadeveon Clowney. Garrett has an NFL-best 13 of the team’s 29 sacks, along with a mind-boggling 14 tackles for losses and 26 quarterback hits. For Clowney’s part, the former Houston, Seattle, and Tennessee starter has 3.5 sacks, and a dozen hits on the quarterback.
—In the middle of the line are defensive tackles Malik Jackson and Malik McDowell, who have combined for 43 tackles. McDowell has three of the pair’s 3.5 quarterback sacks. They have also combined for 11 quarterback hits, but McDowell leads the team in penalties with eight.
—The Browns’ linebacking corps has been bolstered with the addition of five-year Northwestern product Anthony Walker, who played his rookie deal in Indianapolis before coming to the Browns this year. Walker leads the team in tackles with 73 and has knocked down two passes; he also has eight or more tackles in each of his last six games. On either side of him are strong-side starter Sione Takitaki and weak-side rookie Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, a Notre Dame product taken in the second round (52nd overall) who has 35 tackles and four breakups. Former Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith is one of the backups; he has 37 stops with two interceptions, three tackles for losses, and five pass breakups.
—The Browns’ cornerback spots have been filled with two first-round selections, 2021 rookie Greg Newsome, the 26th overall pick from Northwestern, and the 2018 top choice, Denzel Ward, the fourth overall selection from Ohio State. Ward has seven pass breakups and two interceptions, one of which he ran back for a 99-yard touchdown against Cincinnati. Newsome has also broken up seven passes. Backing them up is free-agent acquisition Troy Hill (Los Angeles Rams), who has 41 tackles, third on the team, four tackles for loss, and three quarterback hits. However, Hill has missed time with a cervical neck sprain. Greedy Williams, the team’s second-round choice from LSU in 2019 (46th overall), has 27 tackles and seven breakups.
—The safety position was undermined last year due to a season-ending Achilles injury to 2020 first-round pick Grant Delpit, an LSU product taken with the 44th overall pick. This year, Delpit has 27 tackles, a sack, and a quarterback hit while being partnered with free safety John Johnson, who is in his fifth NFL season from Boston College and was drafted in 2017 by the Los Angeles Rams (third round, 91st overall). Johnson played through his rookie deal before moving to Cleveland; he has 39 tackles, fourth on the team, with two interceptions and three pass breakups.
—Third-year punter and Scotland native Jamie Gillan, who attended high school in Leonardtown, Maryland, has provided long-sought-after stability at that position. In 36 total punts, Gillan has had only one touchback while placing 13 kicks inside the coffin corner, forcing 11 fair catches along the way. He is grossing 43.9 yards per punt and netting 39.9, rather ordinary figures. The coverage teams are allowing 19.9 yards per kick return (eighth-best) and 7.9 yards per punt return (15th).
—Demetric Felton, a rookie from UCLA, has been the Browns’ primary punt returner, running back 29 punts while signaling for only two fair catches all season. He is averaging 7.9 yards per return with no runback longer than 24 yards. On kick-return duty is Anthony Schwartz, a rookie third-round pick (91st overall) from Auburn who is averaging 21.1 yards per runback with no return longer than 35 yards.
—In the placekicking department, third-year veteran Chase McLaughlin has already had quite the career for someone relatively young. In 2019 alone, the Illinois product kicked for Buffalo, Minnesota, the Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco, and Indianapolis. Last season, he plied his trade with Jacksonville and the New York Jets. So far this season, McLaughlin has missed one extra point and three of 16 field-goal tries. All three of his misses have come from between 40-49 yards, but he is 4-for-4 from beyond 50 yards.
Prediction
Cleveland is heading for its bye after this game; after the off-week, it gets to play the Ravens again, with the second meeting at home. This one is under the prime-time lights in Baltimore, where the Ravens have done quite well in these types of games under head coach John Harbaugh. For all the hype and talk around the Browns the past few years, they still can’t find a way to beat the Ravens consistently. Cleveland lost only five regular-season games last year, and two were against the Ravens, and Baltimore has beaten Cleveland more than any other team in the league.
The Browns are better, but the big question is whether they are good enough to beat the Ravens in Baltimore. With so much on the line for the home team–and with Lamar back under center–I think the answer is ‘no.’
Baltimore 31, Cleveland 20
