Key Takeaways From Cleveland Browns 35-10 Loss To The Baltimore Ravens

The Browns 2024 season came to a close with a sixth consecutive loss, finishing a miserable campaign 3-14 overall

Jan 4, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) controls the ball as Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) defends during the first quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Saturday evening in Baltimore went about how everyone expected for the Cleveland Browns.

The offense struggled yet again, even with another quarterback change in Bailey Zappe, while MVP candidate Lamar Jackson put the finishing touches on his phenomenal season with an offensive explosion in the second half that not only propelled the Ravens to a 35-10 win, but also helped them cover a massive nearly 20-point spread. The victory officially anointed Baltimore as champions of the AFC North for the second consecutive year and while the Browns dropped to 3-14 to finish the season and put themselves in position for the No. 1 overall pick.

Here are the key takeaways from the Browns season finale.

Banged Up Browns

The Browns were battered by injuries for a second consecutive season and that didn't stop in Week 18. In the lead up to the game, Cleveland placed three players on the IR in David Njoku, Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong. They also wound up ruling out DT Dalvin Tomlinson, CB Denzel Ward and LB Jordan Hicks.

Things got worse during the game. Rookie Mike Hall Jr. went down with a serious knee injury that required him being carted off. Martin Emerson Jr. exited with an ankle injury in the second half and never returned. Just another brutal season in terms of injuries for the Browns, to go along with everything else.

Not So Happy With Zappe

Bailey Zappe received the honor of being the Browns 40th starting QB since the team returned to Cleveland in 1999. He commemorated distinction by throwing a pick six on the Browns second series of the game. Two possessions later he was replaced by the Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who played just one series at quarterback then never saw the field again.

Even with Zappe under center, offense looked stuck in the mud, as it has for most of the season. After a quarter he was one-for-three for 21 yards, and the offense had just 46 yards of total offense. By halftime he was up to just five-of-11 for 55 yards, with the offense having accumulated just 94 yards of offense. He finally led a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, which was much too little, much too late, with the team trailing 21-10, He'd toss a second interception one series later and 16-of-31, 170 yards, one touchdown and two picks. But much like DTR, the Browns can probably rule out bring another QB back ext season.

No Sack Title

When the game went final around 7:40 p.m. on Saturday night, Myles Garrett had failed to register a sack, which left him tied with the Bengals Trey Hendrickson for the league lead in sacks with 14. Hendrickson then went on to record a three sack game against Pittsburgh to all but claim the sack crown for himself. Garrett will have to wait another year to try and check that box off his list of individual goals.

Record Season

Jerry Jeudy put the finishing touches on a memorable first year in Cleveland in Week 18, hauling in six passes for 63 yards. That brought him to a grand total of 90 receptions for the season, a franchise record. The former first-first-round pick racked up a career-career-high 1,229 yards, with four touchdowns as well. It was by far the best season of his young career, commemorated by his first ever invitation to the Pro Bowl. Jeudy is the long bright spot in a Cleveland offense that was historically bad in 2024.

No Quit

Despite the Browns finishing off a three-win season, there was no questioning the effort in trying to finish the season strong. That goes back for a number of weeks as well, where players were clearly receptive to overtures from leaders like Garrett to keep fighting and find reasons to stay motivated, even when the playoffs aren't one of those things.

That no quite mentality was especially true for the defense. There were probably unrealistic expectations put on that unit entering the season after putting up some meteoric numbers in 2023. Jim Schwartz group wasn't quite as good this year, but they did do enough in a number of games to give the Browns a chance and limit the damage from their opponents. That was the case on Saturday as well.

The Browns defense will finish top five in third down conversation percentage allowed this season. They were middle of the road in total yards allowed. The 25 points per game allowed is deceiving when you consider how much the offense put the defense behind the eight ball week-after-week.

No. 3 Guarantee

With today's loss the Browns are now guaranteed to hold at least the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. There is still a scenario that ends with them actually holding the first overall pick, which involves the Patriots beating the Bills and the Titans beating the Texans. It's not as daunting as it may seem, considering Buffalo is locked into the No. 2 seed in the AFC and plan on resting their starters on Sunday without anything to play for. Similarly, the Texans can't move any higher or lower than the No. 4 seed and face a similar decision. Either way, Sunday now provides Browns fans with some must watch games to find out where the team will be drafting come April.