Ravens Present Browns Opportunity to Respond to Adversity

Coming off three straight losses, the Cleveland Browns will travel to Baltimore to face off against the Ravens in a game that could allow them to get a breakthrough victory and put them back in the division mix.

After three straight losses, the last of which was a thorough drubbing at the hands of Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots at home, the Cleveland Browns will attempt to get back in the win column in back to back games against the AFC North, where they would make the biggest impact. The Browns will travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens before returning home to host the Cincinnati Bengals. While those matchups will not be easy, they don't look quite as daunting as they did to start the season, but it starts with a good performance against the Ravens.

The Ravens have arguably the most electrifying quarterback in the NFL in Lamar Jackson. He has the capacity to win games by himself. Unfortunately, that's too often what the Ravens need to happen and it's part of why they are currently 3-3.

Of the 934 rushing yards the Ravens have, Jackson is responsible for 451 of them. The next leading rusher on the team is Kenyan Drake with 183 yards. They have talented options including J.K. Dobbins, but he's coming off a serious injury and hasn't found his groove to this point. The Ravens have been juggling offensive linemen which has contributed to some of their inconsistency.

The Browns had a solid game in run defense against the Patriots, but so much of that damage was done in between the tackles. The Ravens aren't likely to want to have Jackson run there consistently, which should push him to the outside. That is slightly better for the Browns who have plenty of speed to potentially corral him, but they can't allow one of the other Ravens backs to kill them there as it will open up their read game.

The status of Jadeveon Clowney will be important to monitor. Being healthy and effective would enable the Browns to limit the amount of damage that Jackson can do outside, whether he's running or passing. The Browns have been reasonably effective at keeping Jackson in the pocket and forcing him to beat them with his arm. Last year, the Browns forced four interceptions in one game and Jackson left the second with an injury.

Clowney could allow the Browns not to be quite so committed in terms of personnel to stop the run. Both against the Atlanta Falcons and the Patriots, the Browns found themselves committing eight players in the box to stop the run, leaving defensive backs already playing with little confidence without additional help.

The other important factor with Clowney is how ineffective the Browns pass rush has been. Both against the Patriots and the Los Angeles Chargers, the only player putting any stress on the quarterback was Myles Garrett. The Browns have blitzed far more in recent weeks with little to show for it.

Newly acquired linebacker Deion Jones could be helpful in this venture. He plays fast and has been more consistent in his career than Jacob Phillips. Phillips played... less badly against the Patriots, but he's been a massive liability overall this year. Jones has the skill set the Browns want when it comes to playing against Jackson. He may not save this defense but it should be an upgrade.

The Ravens still goes through tight end and Browns killer Mark Andrews. Rashod Bateman looks great, but has missed games due to injury. Devin Duvernay has grown into an explosive third option.

Even if the Browns are forced to put numbers near the line of scrimmage, if their defensive backs could simply play up to their ability, the results would be infinitely better. Denzel Ward's status is still up in the air as he remained in concussion protocol as of Monday. If he can play in this game and simply take away one of the Ravens receivers consistently, it would be a big help.

That's been the nightmare of this defense this year. They stop either the running game or the passing game. Save for a handful of quarters against the Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers, it's never been both.

The Ravens defense has terrific defensive backs and a stout defensive line. The linebackers have held this team back and they are consistently playing four of them. Their pass rush has been wholly ineffective and they desperately miss Justin Houston when he's missed time with injury.

While the defensive backs are terrific, the unit as a whole is inconsistent and they have given up tons of plays particularly late in games, resulting in the Ravens blowing leads in multiple. They have also intercepted eight passes on the season. So even as Jacoby Brissett should have time to throw, he has to find open receiver and avoid turning the ball over.

The Browns offensive line is coming off their worst performance of the season. Losing Wyatt Teller to a calf injury didn't help, but the Patriots whipped them, especially on first down which made it impossible to establish the running game. Teller's status remains unclear to this point, but if the Browns can have success moving the trio of Justin Madubuike, Travis Jones and Calais Campbell off the ball, Nick Chubb should exploit the linebackers and create explosive runs.

The most troubling matchup for the Browns entering this game will likely be Amari Cooper against Marlon Humphrey. Cooper was held to just one reception for nine yards against A.J. Terrell of the Falcons. Humphrey has that type of ability., The Browns need to find ways to scheme Cooper open, something they did not do well against the Falcons.

It's helpful that Donovan Peoples-Jones has been building momentum over the course of the season. He was one of only a few bright spots in the Patriots game and continues to be outstanding making contested catches. Marcus Peters isn't an easy matchup, so it should be an interesting matchup for DPJ as he continues to show just how good he can be.

This could be a great opportunity for David Njoku to have a big game. The Ravens do have the advantage of having so much personnel they can throw at him in coverage. That could boil down to safety Chuck Clark, but they also have linebackers like Patrick Queen and first-round pick Kyle Hamilton.

Because the Ravens have so many corners, the Browns might be encouraged to utilize more of their tight ends in the passing game. Pharaoh Brown was targeted multiple times against the Patriots, but Harrison Bryant has often been underutilized in this offense. The Browns might benefit from playing bigger in this game.

The player that has traditionally caused the Ravens the most problems is Kareem Hunt and this is the team the Browns might benefit from having both Chubb and Hunt together on the field the most. They tried to do that last year before Hunt suffered the ankle injury that effectively ended his season.

The Ravens have had difficulty matching up with Hunt in the passing game. When he lines up out wide, it puts their linebackers and safeties in an awkward position in how to defend him. At times, he's found himself matched up on corners and still found success. Additionally, when a corner is on him, they aren't on one of their other receivers. That dynamic could produce advantageous matchups for the Browns in the passing game while also giving Chubb running lanes.

This game may boil down to turnovers and the red zone. The Browns defense has been terrible this season, but they have been better (58.33 percent) than the Ravens (68.18 percent) at keeping teams out of the endzone. Even though the Ravens struggled in the red zone against the New York Giants, a big reason they lost the game, they are still converting on 60 percent of their red zone opportunities for the season. The Browns are behind them at 59 percent. Meanwhile, Jackson and Brissett are near the top of the league in interceptions with six and five respectively.

The Browns will be tasked with defeating Lamar Jackson while the Ravens will be doing everything possible to make Jacoby Brissett be the player that defeats them, which is why the Ravens are heavily favored in this game. Nevertheless, for all the issues the Browns have, they might match up with the Ravens better than many might think if they have a healthy Jadeveon Clowney available to them.