BOLD PREDICTIONS: Ravens at Browns

Winners in six of their past seven games, the Baltimore Ravens (9-4) travel to battle the Cleveland Browns (5-8) at FirstEnergy Stadium as part of an NFL Saturday triple-header lineup. The Ravens are tied atop the AFC North standings with (9-4) Cincinnati; however, Baltimore holds the head-to-head tiebreaker, winning 19-17 in Week 5. Cleveland has won two of its past three games.

The Ravens are (9-4) for the fifth time in franchise history (also 2012, 2010, 2008 & 2000), earning a playoff berth in each of those seasons.

Baltimore leads the all-time series vs. the Browns, 35-12. Under head coach John Harbaugh, the Ravens are 24-5 vs. the Browns, including 11-3 in Cleveland. Baltimore has won five of its last six overall vs. Cleveland, including a 23-20 contest in Week 7 this season.

Can the Ravens make it six of the last seven?

Tony Lombardi

The weather forecast isn’t the most ideal for throwing the football so look for both teams to do what they do best – RUN THE FOOTBALL.

• Over the last three head-to-head games between these teams the Ravens have averaged 142 yards by ground and the Browns 84. The Ravens will exceed their average, rushing for 170 yards while the Browns will fall just short of their mark. The absence of LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah will be a factor. The Ravens will have two runs of 25+ yards, one of which will go for a score – thank you very much Gus Edwards.

• Deshaun Watson will hit Amari Cooper from long-distance for a score but it will be one of the Browns’ few highlights. The back of Marcus Peters No. 24 jersey will be in full view on the play.

• Neither quarterback will throw for more than 200 yards. Watson will edge Tyler Huntley 190 to 155. One of Huntley’s passes will fall into the waiting arms of Mark Andrews for a score. They’ll dial up the play that Huntley missed against the Steelers down in the red zone. This time it works.

• The Ravens had 5 sacks earlier this year against the Browns. They will match that total in this one. Tyus Bowser gets in on the action with 1 ½ sacks and he adds an interception when he drops into zone coverage and Watson fails to notice. Bowser makes it a house call. It proves to be the game’s deciding score.

• The Browns score a late touchdown and try to go for two after missing an earlier PAT. They’ll fail.

Ravens 23 Browns 18

[Related Article: Keys to Sweeping Cleveland]

Darin McCann

This is a game that could clinch any tiebreaker scenarios the Ravens could eventually find themselves facing with the Bengals at the end of the regular season. So, that’s big. It’s also a divisional road game. So, that’s also big. And they are facing off against Deshaun Watson, and there is absolutely no individual player in this glorious National Football League that I would like to see the Ravens make look horrible than that guy.

So, that’s big, too.

It’s not going to be easy for the good guys, however, as Cleveland does seem to have more offensive firepower at their disposal at this time of the season than the Ravens. But I’m not sure the Browns can field the same kind of defense as the Ravens, on the flip side. Expect this one to be decided late. Here are a few bold predictions:

• JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards build on last week’s performance, and they BOTH rush for more than 100 yards on the day.

• Devin Duvernay takes the top off the defense on a Sluggo route and scores from more than 60 yards out.

• Odafe Oweh — say it with me — gets two sacks. I will speak this into existence some day.

• Marcus Peters gets a red zone pick as a resilient Ravens defense makes a play again with their backs against the wall.

• Justin Houston and Calais Campbell combine their 135 years of experience into a sack on Watson on a big third down in the fourth quarter.

Ravens 24 Browns 20

Rob Shields

I was very impressed by last week’s win. I was skeptical that we could score enough points. They got three more than I expected and that was enough to win.

However, it took getting three turnovers against a bad team to earn a two-point win. Yes, they played with the backup and third-string quarterbacks, and that is also very hard to do and everyone deserves credit for that.

The defense is playing at a high level but still managed to make enough mistakes to make that game close.

Huntley is likely to play this week, but I still have a hard time believing that this team can play well enough to win a game on the road without Lamar Jackson. The running game should be there. The defense should be there. But will the offense be there?

Cleveland is good on the lines. This will be another tough one. I was hoping for a split while Lamar was out. A win this week puts the team in great shape to win the division but I think the offense falls short. Good news is that I felt the same way last week, so hopefully I’ll be wrong again.

Browns 17 Ravens 13

Derek Arnold

When the Ravens took on the Watson-led Texans in 2019, I came away thoroughly unimpressed with the QB. He seemed to hold the ball forever, taking sack after sack, and just being incredibly indecisive. It was…well, kind of like watching Lamar Jackson for the past year or so (/ducks). Watson was a little better in the 2020 matchup in Houston, but still threw that early pick to L.J. Fort that put his team behind the 8-ball immediately.

I don’t expect him to look much better after two years off against a defense that is hitting on all cylinders, and based on the way he’s looked through two games back.

The Ravens, on the other hand, will take advantage of having a healthy offensive line that’s riding high after pushing Pittsburgh around, and of a beat-up Browns defense that couldn’t even stop the run when they were healthy.

• Dobbins & Gus combine for 185 yards and two scores. Huntley adds 40 on the ground.

• Watson throws one pick (to Kyle Hamilton), and fumbles once (forced by Houston, recovered by Roquan).

• Huntley fumbles once, thanks to Myles Garrett.

• Speaking of Roquan, he introduces himself to Nick Chubb, helping hold the RB under 50 rushing yards.

• The Ravens’ end-of-half defense is again a bugaboo. They lead 10-0 nearing halftime, but allow a quick drive and FG to make it 10-3 at the half. They lead 20-10 with three minutes to play, but again make things interesting. It’s 20-17 before the good guys recover an onside kick with a minute to play.

Ravens 20 Browns 17

Ron Toothe

Despite not having Lamar Jackson on the field, the Ravens have managed to eke out two close wins in recent weeks thanks in equal part to the dominance of the defense, the addition of returning players from injury, and a little bit of luck. Can that continue on the road in Cleveland this week?

As Marlon Humphrey said earlier this week, they’re definitely looking forward to giving Cleveland’s new quarterback a not-so-warm welcome to the division. The real question is, can the offense manage to put together enough scoring drives? Cleveland’s run defense has been a broken dam all year, so if they can establish the ground game and build an early lead (essentially nullifying the Nick Chubb effect), they’ll be in prime position to do so.

Like in Pittsburgh last week, the Ravens are likely to go in with the approach of “this is what we’re doing, try to stop it,” and so far this year the Browns haven’t shown any indication that they’ll be able to. Expect another close one though, as this offense without Jackson at the helm just doesn’t have the consistency through the air to pull away from anybody on the scoreboard.

Ravens 23 Browns 20 OT

Chris Schisler

The Ravens have a tough game ahead of them. They have to keep things afloat another week without Lamar Jackson. The good news is it looks like Tyler Huntley is ready to go. The Ravens’ offense will be efficient against a defense that isn’t great. The run game will continue to do most of the heavy lifting for the offense. Look for another 200-yard performance from the run game. J.K. Dobbins was so good last week that it was almost shocking. Gus Edwards is always a hard player for the opposing team to handle. The Ravens will hog the football, run the ball and score just enough to win this game. The Ravens’ defense is up for the challenge of playing Deshaun Watson. It probably even adds to the motivation they have for this game. Here are some bold predictions for this game:

• The Ravens attempt six field goals, and Justin Tucker makes them all.

• The Ravens win the turnover battle and will pick Watson off twice.

• The Ravens will rush for 220 yards and pass for 130.

• J.K. Dobbins will have 110 yards on the day.

• Gus Edwards will have 65 yards on the ground.

• Nick Chubb will be held to 58 yards

Ravens 18 Browns 17

Kevin McNelis

With as close as the Ravens have been keeping their games, I’m a little more anxious about this road trip to Cleveland than I was at the beginning of the year. That said, Deshaun Watson is now under center for the Browns, and thus far in 2022, the Watson experiment hasn’t been off to such a hot start. Look for the opportunistic Ravens defense to feast in this one.

• Baltimore pressures Watson early and often. Watson turns the ball over multiple times, setting up drives that begin on Cleveland’s end of the field. They result in two rushing touchdowns.

• The bread and butter for this Browns offense for a long time has been their lethal running back duo, but this season, Kareem Hunt hasn’t looked like his usual self. Baltimore keys their defensive game plan on shutting down Nick Chubb, and the Browns rush for under 70 yards on the day.

• Tyler Huntley doesn’t miss a step in his return. Mark Andrews continues to be clamped by the defensive secondary, but it opens opportunities for Josh Oliver and Isaiah Likely. They combine for six catches on the day.

I anticipate that the passing game for the Browns could test the late-game zone defense we’ve seen from the Ravens’ secondary, but it’s not enough to catch up.

Ravens 20 Browns 13

Chad Racine

All season I have been saying that DeShaun Watson will not play as well as Jacoby Brissett. After not playing football for two years it’s what we should expect. However, this is a division game and we all know anything can happen.  The biggest challenge will be stopping Nick Chubb.

• Chubb will be held to under 60 rushing yards with one rushing touchdown.

• Watson will pass for under 150 yards and no touchdowns.

• Roquan Smith will have a sack and two tackles for loss.

• Kyle Hamilton will have an interception.

• J.K Dobbins will rush for 120 yards and a touchdown.

• Tyler Huntley will throw for a touchdown and 150 yards.

Ravens 20 Browns 13

Jared Pinder

The Browns defense right now is soft and squishy up front with their best linebacker being hurt, which bodes well for a heavy run game.

The Browns offense under Watson has been bad since his return. He has looked like he hasn’t played in two years and is making boneheaded mistakes. Not good against a team that forced three turnovers last game.

The Browns don’t scare me even with Huntley playing. He can make a few plays with his arm as well so I do think the Ravens will beat the Browns pretty easily.

• Huntley throws a touchdown to Mark Andrews.

• Ravens bully the browns up front and Dobbins and Edwards combine for 200 + rushing yards.

• Watson makes a couple of plays, but can’t control his turnovers and throws two picks.

Ravens 27 Browns 10

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