BALTIMORE — Just four days after a prime-time victory over the New England Patriots, the Ravens are back at M&T Bank Stadium to welcome the Cleveland Browns to town in their second AFC North game of the season.
The biggest story of Thursday night’s game is the return of the NFL’s regular officials after the lockout officially ended late Wednesday. Tenth-year veteran Gene Steratore will be the referee as the league was able to gather a crew in time to officiate the earliest game of Week 4.
Baltimore plays its third prime-time game in four weeks — or 18 days, depending on how you look at it — and will try to extend its current eight-game winning streak against the Browns. The Ravens lead the all-time series with a 19-7 margin.
From a health standpoint, the Ravens find themselves in better shape than the Browns as offensive lineman Jah Reid was the only player on the 53-man roster even listed as questionable. Meanwhile, the Browns will be without starting wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, who was ruled out Wednesday with a hamstring injury.
Already traveling to M&T Bank Stadium where they have won just three times in the history of the rivalry, the 0-3 Browns also deal with the disadvantage of being the road team in the dreaded Thursday night game. The Ravens have won 20 of their last 21 home games in the regular season and are 29-5 at home during the John Harbaugh era.
Breaking a stretch of three straight weeks wearing their purple jerseys and white pants, the Ravens will wear black pants with the purple tops for the first time this season. The Browns will wear white jerseys and white pants on Thursday night.
Here are tonight’s inactives …
Baltimore
OL Jah Reid
WR LaQuan Williams
CB Asa Jackson
TE Billy Bajema
DE DeAngelo Tyson
LB Sergio Kindle
DT Bryan Hall
Cleveland
WR Mohamed Massaquoi
LB James-Michael Johnson
TE Alex Smith
QB Thaddeus Lewis
DB Eric Hagg
RB Brandon Jackson
OL Ryan Miller
Follow WNST on Twitter for the latest updates and analysis as Drew Forrester, Nestor Aparicio, and I report live from M&T Bank Stadium throughout the evening.
Luke Jones
Luke Jones is the Ravens and Orioles beat reporter for WNST BaltimorePositive.com and is a PFWA member. His mind is consumed with useless sports knowledge, pro wrestling promos, and movie quotes, but he often forgets where he put his phone. Luke's favorite sports memories include being one of the thousands of kids who waited for Cal Ripken's autograph after Orioles games in the summer of 1995, attending the Super Bowl XXXV victory parade with his dad in the pouring rain, and watching the Terps advance to the Final Four at the Carrier Dome in 2002. Follow him on social media @BaltimoreLuke or email him at Luke@wnst.net.
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