The Baltimore Ravens come into Week 4 at 2-1 after dropping their game last week against the Kansas City Chiefs. Their opponent, the Cleveland Browns, come in at 1-2 and have a lot of questions to answer. With a win against Cleveland, the Ravens would move to 3-1 and effectively gain a three-game lead in the AFC North. That would be a massive lead in a division that was thought to be the hardest in football by some before the season. However, right now, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
With the Browns having a wealth of talent, this isn’t going to be an automatic win, but I expect the Ravens to get the job done. Here are five reasons why Baltimore will beat Cleveland in Week 4.
Lamar Jackson
In each of my “reasons why the Ravens will win” articles, there has been one constant: the quarterback out of Louisville.
Jackson has impressed me in ways I didn’t think we’d see until next year. His accuracy has improved drastically and he’s placing balls in places only his receivers can get it all while still being one of the biggest threats in the league with his legs. He also is letting the game come to him and not rushing things, which has improved his decision making.
On the year, Jackson has 863 yards passing with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. Last year ball security was an issue for Jackson, so his lack of turnovers this season has quietly been one of the biggest reasons the Ravens sit at 2-1.
I expect Jackson to have another turnover-free game. If Jackson plays even just a little bit better than he did at Kansas City and if the secondary improves, the Ravens should have an easy win.
Secondary is mad and ready to show off
Speaking of the secondary, I expect it to have a bounce-back performance this week. This secondary is mad, and I think after seeing where they faltered over the last two weeks, they’re ready to prove that they’re for real.
With players like Earl Thomas, Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Carr and Tony Jefferson, there’s no way the group doesn’t figure it out. Just as the Browns have too much talent not to put the pieces all together, this Ravens secondary will bounce back, if only because they have so much great talent.
Defensive coordinator Don Martindale will likely employ a lot of complicated coverages to deceive quarterback Baker Mayfield into some throws that he normally wouldn’t make. I expect this secondary to force Mayfield to throw at least one interception and prove that they’re the dominant group we thought they were.
Banged-up Browns secondary
Staying on the topic of the secondary, the Browns might not have much of one come Sunday. Both starting cornerbacks, Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams, missed last Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, and both are trending in the direction of missing this Sunday as well.
While safety Damarious Randall returned to practice, if the Browns are forced to play without either Ward or Williams, it would potentially spell disaster for Cleveland. While the unit fared well against the Rams, the Ravens’ receiving group arguably match up with the Browns better.
Wide receiver Marquise Brown can take the top off a defense while also being effective running slants and comeback routes. Mark Andrews is a first-down machine who can run deep routes as a tight end, and Hayden Hurst has good hands himself. Both are huge mismatches up the seam that Jackson loves throwing to. Willie Snead is a good possession receiver, while Miles Boykin and Seth Roberts might get more opportunities as well. Even looking at the running backs, Mark Ingram and Justice Hill can be threats out of the backfield to catch a pass and make plays with the ball in their hands.
If the Browns are shorthanded in the secondary again, expect the Ravens to attack them early and often through the air.
Freddie Kitchens
When the Browns hired Freddie Kitchens to be their coach, the expectation was that he’d take the offense that he’d built and take it to the next level.
That hasn’t been the case so far, as it seems that Kitchens and new offensive coordinator Todd Monken have clashed in terms of the play-calling. Yet it doesn’t seem Kitchens is ready to hand things over to Monken while not doing a great job at running the offense himself.
The Browns offense looks nothing like it did last year, and while part of that can be attributed to the fact that the Cleveland hasn’t had a lot of time to mesh on the field, some of it is on Kitchens’ shoulders. The Browns haven’t had the strongest play calls, most notably when they ran a draw play on a 4th-and-9 against the Rams.
The Ravens’ coaching experience has historically outwitted rookie coaches, and I don’t expect that to change on Sunday. Although Kitchens has a great football mind, he doesn’t have his legs under him as a head coach yet, and I think that will come back to bite him against this Ravens team.
Home cooking
The Ravens got the short end of the stick last week in Kansas City in myriad ways. But this week, they’re back at home in Baltimore and should get the full benefit of the home crowd on their side. History is also on their side.
The Ravens have always been much better at home than on the road. Under coach John Harbaugh, Baltimore has gone 65-23 at M&T Bank Stadium. But the Ravens have done even better than that against the Browns. Under Harbaugh, Baltimore is 10-1 against Cleveland at home, with an average margin-of-victory of 11 points per game.
Not only do the Browns have to battle against a solid team this week, they have to battle the crowd and everything else M&T Bank Stadium brings with it.
