OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Riding an impressive five-game winning streak, the Ravens face a 1-6 team and are substantial road favorites on Sunday afternoon.
They should be since bad isn’t the word to sufficiently describe the Cleveland Browns, who have looked downright toxic in 2024 amidst the abject failures of $230 million quarterback Deshaun Watson and the efforts to shield him in the wake of ex-Raven Joe Flacco’s improbable run to the playoffs with the Browns last season. Former top wide receiver Amari Cooper has already escaped with a trade to Buffalo, and others surely want out before the Nov. 5 trade deadline. Watson’s season-ending Achilles tear last Sunday prompted cheers from a portion of fans attending the home loss to Cincinnati, and that reaction garnered postgame rebukes from several Browns players.
That’s never a dynamic a franchise wants, no matter one’s feelings on Watson the person or fans celebrating an injury to any player. Cleveland fans won’t hesitate to turn on their own team quickly if the Ravens jump out to an early lead on Sunday, something the NFL’s best offense is apt to do.
But the Browns are also a different offense than they were a week ago with veteran Jameis Winston now at quarterback and first-year offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey taking over the play-calling duties from head coach Kevin Stefanski. Winston has started three games over the last three seasons and just 10 over the last five years, but we’re talking about a 30-year-old who had a 33-touchdown season to his name back in 2019. Of course, he also threw 30 interceptions that same year.
Yes, Winston likes to sling the ball around the field — to either team — and will be facing a Ravens defense that ranks last in the NFL in passing yards allowed and could be without top cornerback Marlon Humphrey. The former first overall pick also has a reputation for being popular with teammates, which could be an underrated dynamic when considering the current state of affairs in Cleveland.
“He loves football. People say that they love football, but that dude loves football,” said Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who coached Winston in Tampa Bay from 2016-18. “He loves his teammates. He owns it. When we were at Tampa, he never threw the coaches under the bus. He owned it; he works awfully hard. There’s a lot to love about Jameis Winston.”
The transition to Dorsey’s system was an utter flop with Watson, but the former Buffalo offensive coordinator was still part of some very good Bills offenses in recent years and was always the more logical choice to call plays than Stefanski this season.
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In other words, Baltimore is preparing for a new quarterback with minimal tape in recent seasons as well as a new offensive play caller. That’s not the easiest task going against a division opponent, especially on a short week following a Monday night road game.
Defensive coordinator Zach Orr called the unknown “a blessing in disguise” for a defense that’s been trying to clean up its own house for weeks now.
“It just allows us to just go out and be ourselves, play our defense,” said inside linebacker Roquan Smith about Cleveland’s changes on offense. “Humans are creatures of tendencies and habits and things like that, so [with] a new play caller, things may be a little different in down and distance.
“But it’s more of just coming out and playing our brand of football.”
Of course, that defensive brand has lacked consistency all season.
On the other side of the ball, the Cleveland defense has underperformed, but it’s largely the same group that was neck and neck with the Ravens vying to be the league’s top defense a year ago. That doesn’t mean the Browns will come close to shutting down Lamar Jackson and this explosive Baltimore offense — such a defense may not exist at this point — but it’s a unit capable of getting some stops here and there.
None of this is to predict an upset, but the circumstances do create an opening — perhaps only a fleeting one — for Cleveland to make this an uncomfortable game if the Ravens start slowly or are careless with the football as they were late in last Monday’s win. It’s also an AFC North road clash, meaning anything can happen.
If you’re head coach John Harbaugh, the message is that you can’t give the Browns any hope, especially in front of a crowd that may have more interest in booing the home team than the Ravens at this point.
