Baltimore Ravens Defense Ready For 'Playmaker' In Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson will play the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium for the first time in his career.

The last time the Baltimore Ravens faced the Cleveland Browns was without Deshaun Watson due to a shoulder injury. 

That won't be the case on Sunday, as Watson is set to be under center in the pivotal divisional matchup on Sunday, which will be his first at M&T Bank Stadium as a member of the Browns. 

"Deshaun is a playmaker," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said. "That's the thing, he's going to do it on time with the rhythm passing and the quick game. He can do it with play-action, the boots and the play-action stuff off of their zone run game and then he can do it as far as extending the play, both as far as running. He does a really good job on the run to find receivers when he's moving out of the pocket, so [he's a] playmaking quarterback."

Deshaun Watson didn't play in the Ravens' previous meeting against the Browns on Oct. 1 :: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

In their first matchup of the season at Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Ravens (7-2) defense was dominant in a 28-3 win on Oct. 1. Browns (5-3) rookie backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson completed 19 of 36 passes for 121 yards, throwing three interceptions and he was sacked four times.  

When healthy, Watson has begun to look like the quarterback of old from when he was with the Houston Texans. He completed 19 of 30 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns in Cleveland's 27-0 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Watson also showed glimmers of his potential on Sept. 24, completing 27 of 33 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns in the Browns' 27-3 win over the Tennessee Titans. After the win over Tennessee, a shoulder injury sidelined him for three of the Browns' next four games, with his lone appearance in that span, only lasting a quarter before being benched. 

Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen expects a different version of the Browns with Watson starting at quarterback this time, though he also expects the defense and the fans to do their part. 

"It's Deshaun Watson," Queen said. "They gave him all that money for a reason. He's a great player, but at the end of the day, he's coming into our stadium, with our team, with our defense [and] with our fans, so that place is going to be rocking. We're going to have it rocking. We're going to do what we need to on defense to get them jumping, and just try to shut them down."

Queen added: "He can put the ball anywhere on the field. He can run. He does not want to slide, so anytime you have a quarterback that's willing to lower their shoulder, that's a huge threat to your defense. We just have to go out there and play our game."

The Ravens defense has been one of the best in football, as they lead the league in sacks (35) and have allowed the fewest points per game (13.8) and second-fewest yards per game (262.6). Baltimore's defense has been exceptional at M&T Bank Stadium, holding opponents to 10 points per game across four games at home. The Ravens held the Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks to nine points combined across their last two games at M&T Bank Stadium. 

With it being Watson's first start at M&T Bank Stadium with Cleveland, There's even more of an impetus for Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith and the defense to slow him down.  

"We have to protect our money and stuff, so we have to do that by any means necessary," Smith said. "So, we're definitely going to welcome them here and lock the gates and then we're going to slug it out."

Baltimore hosts the Browns on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at M&T Bank Stadium.