With the Ravens looking to record a season sweep over Cleveland and hang tough in the AFC playoff race on Monday night, below are a dozen thoughts and a prediction, each in 50 words or less:
1. A 2002 showdown between 7-7 wild-card hopefuls? A couple season finales in which Baltimore was trying to make the playoffs? This is the biggest Ravens-Browns game we’ve seen with both teams having much to gain. It’s just the fourth time in 44 meetings that Cleveland has owned the better record.
2. Losses by Miami and Oakland helped in the No. 7 seed race, but John Harbaugh’s team needs to take care of business. A win puts the Ravens in the driver’s seat with three remaining opponents owning a combined 8-30-1 record. A loss? Enjoy scoreboard watching the rest of the way.
3. Entering Sunday, these teams ranked first and second in rushing yards per game, first and fourth in yards per carry, and accounted for three of the league’s top four rushers in yards per carry (with at least 80 attempts). The ground game isn’t dead just yet in today’s pass-happy NFL.
4. After not looking right in 23 defensive snaps against Dallas last week, Calais Campbell missing the entire practice week wasn’t encouraging even if he does suit up against the Browns. This isn’t an offensive line and rushing attack you want to face at less than full strength right now.
5. In the first half of Week 1, Lamar Jackson threw for 208 yards, higher than his full-game total in eight of 11 games this season. You hope a full practice week with Marquise Brown and Mark Andrews — who combined for 159 yards and two touchdowns in that opener — pays off.
6. The Browns were banged up in the secondary in that season opener and won’t have the services of top cornerback Denzel Ward on Monday night. With Cleveland keeping Tennessee star Derrick Henry in check last week, the Ravens need to be able to make plays through the air.
7. Yes, opponents have been getting the ball out quickly, but the Ravens have collected just six sacks over the last six games since their six-sack effort at Philadelphia. Baker Mayfield still tends to crumble in a pressured pocket, but there’s no shortage of weapons Wink Martindale must consider when blitzing.
8. This is the kind of game where you’d like to see Yannick Ngakoue shine, but his vulnerability against the run makes that tricky. The former Terp has been better than his stat line, but good enough for the extension Baltimore was seemingly reluctant to give Matthew Judon? I’m not convinced.
9. It was interesting to hear Greg Roman acknowledge the coaching staff didn’t know what to expect after Jackson was “hit pretty hard” by COVID-19 and only logged two days of work before the Dallas game. Reps have always been so important for the developing passer.
10. Questions persist about the offensive line, but Ben Powers has produced solid work in three starts at right guard despite various players lining up at center and right tackle over that stretch. The Ravens now playing rookie Tyre Phillips at right tackle would seem to support that sentiment.
11. Cleveland is allowing up to 12,000 fans in attendance, but you can only imagine how electric a full house at FirstEnergy Stadium would be on Monday night. I always said the Browns were too bad to dislike, so it’s OK to feel good for their fans — at least until kickoff.
12. This one carries much more meaning, but the last Monday night meeting between these teams brought us Will Hill’s unforgettable “kick six” in 2015. I’m not predicting anything like that this time around, but the Ravens do have a pretty clear edge on special teams.
Prediction: I was leaning toward picking the Browns all week and Pittsburgh losing offers them greater incentive, but we’re still talking about Cleveland. And though I’m not convinced we learned all that much in the Dallas game, the Ravens should be desperate enough for a 27-23 win. If not now, when?
