The Ravens are undefeated coming off a Bye Week, as well as playing against the Browns in the John Harbaugh era. But Cleveland has improved in the past several weeks, as their Rookie core of Trent Richardson, Brandon Weeden and Josh Gordon have acclimated to the NFL. Joe Haden also returns from his 4-game suspension for his “Adderol” use, so the Browns defense gets a boost as well.
On paper this game looks like a no-brainer victory for the Ravens but this is the type of game in the past that has been overlooked and the team lays a dud. These are the keys to the victory for Baltimore:
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1) Feed the Ball to Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce The Browns rank 24th in run defense, so with the personnel the Ravens have, it shouldn’t be a problem for the to rack up at least 200 combined rushing yards. Also, that would help their defense by not forcing them back on the field and allowing them more rest.
2) Protect Joe Flacco
Cleveland is tied for 12th in the league with 19 sacks this season. That’s not a huge number, but it shows they are fully capable of sacking the quarterback on a consistent basis. Considering the offensive line’s pass protection at Houston two weeks ago, they should be really motivated in this one.
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3) Get off the field on third downs
Baltimore is 22nd in the NFL in 3rd down defense, allowing the opposition to convert 42 percent of their third downs. If the Ravens want to re-establish their defensive identity (and health), they will need to be the aggressor on third downs and force the offense to punt, which is something they’ve struggled to do this season.
