The Baltimore Ravens will try to mend the wounds from their first loss of the season against one of their AFC North rivals, the Cleveland Browns. Week 4 is the start of a slate of division games for Baltimore that could set them up for the AFC North crown if they win each one.
But things are forever changing inside the division. The Browns spent a lot of time and money adding pieces to their roster this offseason, and while they have a 1-2 record after three weeks, they’re dramatically different than the team we saw late last season. So to get a better look at what Cleveland has going for them, good and bad, I turned to Browns Wire managing editor Jeff Risdon with some questions.
1) Baker Mayfield has struggled this year after a strong rookie season, in spite of having more talent around him now. What’s the difference that’s causing problems?
That’s the million-dollar question around Cleveland right now. There is not one easy answer to it. He’s just not seeing the field as well as he’s shown last year, or at Oklahoma. Holding the ball too long and not trusting his playmakers to do their thing is part of it. Mayfield’s seeing ghosts in the pocket too and throwing off-balance and falling away (often without reason) from his passes.
The playcalling has not helped. Too many route combinations have too many working parts and take too long to develop when you have Greg Robinson and Chris Hubbard as the tackles. A lot of the easy “hot” reads are not created in this version of Freddie Kitchens’ offense. It’s something they’re conscious of, fortunately.
2) The Browns’ defense has also been disappointing this season, sitting around the middle of the pack in every major category. What is going wrong with this unit, and how can they improve?
Their stats are unfairly skewed by a really bad Week 1. The last two weeks have been much more reflective of how good they can be. Myles Garrett has been dominating, and Sheldon Richardson and Olivier Vernon played great in Week 3.
The thing to watch is the secondary. The entire starting unit was out in Week 3. Getting safety Damarious Randall back is big, even though Juston Burris and Eric Murray have played well. Denzel Ward has been uncharacteristically off, and that’s a big concern.
3) Regardless of their problems, Cleveland has tons of killer talent on offense, while Baltimore has struggled in the secondary this season. How can the Ravens limit the damage?
Pressuring Mayfield and taking away his preferred read on the play is critical. Baker is savvy enough to identify a defense cheating to help too much on Odell Beckham Jr. and will happily switch to Jarvis Landry or Rashard Higgins (if he plays, he’ll be questionable). They’d better wrap and have solid tackling fundamentals, too. Beckham and Nick Chubb are both great at forcing missed tackles and turning a 5-yard gain into 50.
4) The deep speed of Marquise Brown and Lamar Jackson’s predilection for throwing bombs to him will likely be a huge factor in the outcome. How will Cleveland attempt to rein them and the big-play offense in?
I expect to see a lot of scheming to get Garrett isolated on a solo block to pressure Jackson and force him to come off the deep reads. The outside CBs are adept in press coverage, and the safeties do have range. Crossing routes and tight ends attacking the seams have been problematic, however. The hope for the Browns is that rookie LB Mack Wilson will help more in that regard. He’s a coverage specialist and proved to be a very good playmaker all summer. Keep an eye on some overload concepts to force Jackson to his left and the two LBs (the Browns always play just two LBs) containing the run option and force him to throw into a shrunken field on the run.
5) What’s your final score prediction for this game, and who has the biggest positive or negative impact?
I expect this to be a close game, and it would not at all surprise me if the Browns offense figures some things out and Cleveland wins. But the Ravens are unlikely to make too many mistakes, and I do think Jackson and the Ravens offense find some success by varying the attack with the power run game. Cleveland’s offensive line has no answer for Matt Judon, and I can see him with a strip-sack that seals the game. Ravens 30, Browns 27
