'It's Going To Be A War!' Baltimore Ravens Prep for Cleveland Browns

The Baltimore Ravens know AFC North battles are always intense, but offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley says the team is turning it up a notch against the Cleveland Browns this weekend.

The Baltimore Ravens (7-2) lead the AFC North Division heading into Week 10 of the NFL season but the Cleveland Browns (5-3) aren’t far off and are more than in the race entering this weekend’s intense contest. 

Perhaps contest isn’t the right word for what’s going to happen when the Ravens host the Browns.

“It’s going to be a battle. It’s going to be a war,” Baltimore offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said about the upcoming game between the division rivals. “We know the type of teams that are in our conference. The Browns are a physical team, so we have to bring our A-game.”

If the NFL Playoffs were to start today the AFC North would hold four of the seven spots in the conference and have a greater than 50% chance of representing the group in this year’s Super Bowl.

Of course, the playoffs don’t start today, and in order to keep their hold on the division lead the Ravens will need to bring the same intensity they did the last time these two teams met.

In a 28-3 Week 4 win over Cleveland, Baltimore’s defense came up with three interceptions and three sacks while allowing less than 200 yards of total offense. 

Of course, in Week 4 the Browns didn’t have Deshaun Watson.

The Ravens will certainly have to account for the return of Cleveland’s starting quarterback, and they’ll have to deal with an equally impactful player on the other side of things as well.

The last time these two met, Stanley and his offensive linemates held Browns star pass rusher Myles Garrett to just one sack and only two combined tackles, keeping him from taking over games as he tends to do on a near-weekly basis.

It was a performance that put Stanley and his group in conversations around the league, and this week he says the aim is to do the same.

“You look forward to these opportunities in this game, and these are one of those games where we have an opportunity to prove the type of player I am and the type of offensive line we are,” Stanley said. “We look forward to these opportunities.”

Stanley isn’t the only one looking forward to this week’s game as it stands out as one of the best - if not the best - matchups in Week 10.

A Baltimore win gives them a 2.5-game lead over Cleveland in the division while the opposite result trims the gap between the two to just half a game. 

Quite the swing in mid-November as both teams look to build some momentum nearing the home stretch this December.