Three Key Ravens Stats For Matchup With Browns

It's a battle between two top NFL defenses when the Browns head to Baltimore this weekend for an AFC North showdown with plenty at stake

It's secret that this weekend's matchup between the Browns and Ravens pins two of the best defenses in the NFL against one another. The chess match between these two teams will be entertaining to watch.

Statistics will always paint an interesting picture of who a team is and what they're doing to win football games. With Baltimore there are some staggering ones – such as their league leading 35 sacks.

That's not all they do well though. Here are three notable Ravens stats to know ahead of their AFC North showdown with the Browns.

1) Red Zone = Dead Zone

Baltimore leads the league in red zone defense, giving up touchdowns on just 33.3-percent of their opponents trips inside the 20. That's a staggering number and one the Browns offense has to be ready to buck if they're going to win this game. For what it's worth, Cleveland's offense is scoring touchdowns in the red area on 63-percent of its trips. If they can continue to have success inside the 20 they may just find themselves celebrating a victory Monday.

2) Touchdowns At a Premium

Off of that previous stat, here's one that really speaks to just how good the Ravens defense has been this year. In four games played at home this season, the Ravens are allowing just 10 points on average to their opponents. But wait, there's more! Opposing teams have found the end zone only two times combined at M&T Bank Stadium over those four games. That is not a typo. It certainly feels like points are going to be hard to come by for Cleveland in this one.

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3) MVP Pace

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer just released his "Midseason Awards," voted on by executives from around the NFL. In it, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was voted Most Valuable Player at this point in the season in a landslide, receiving 23 of the 39 total votes in his favor. 

Jackson obviously won the MVP for real in 2019, during a season that saw the Ravens go 14-2. Nine games into the 2023 campaign, Jackson and Baltimore are on a similar trajectory. After the same number of games in 2019, the Louisville product had amassed 2,036 yards passing, 15 touchdowns, while completing nearly 66-percent of his passes. He had added another 702 yards and six touchdowns on the ground, and ironically, Baltimore was 7-2 then as well. 

This year, Jackson has thrown for 1,954 yards, nine touchdowns and has posted an improved completion percentage of 71.5-percent. On the ground, Jackson is up to 440 yards and five touchdowns. Come Sunday, the Browns are going to have to find a way to knock him off his MVP pace.