Training camp and the regular season quickly approach as we enter the summer months. With the schedule released and the NFL moving back into their training facilities, the regular season occurring in its entirety is looking more plausible. With an eye towards the 2020 NFL season, we’ll take a look at each of the Baltimore Ravens’ opponents, in order. From the records against each other to the big performances, we’ll take a deep dive to prepare you for the regular season.
The Ravens will open the 2020 NFL season against their AFC North rival Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium, before meeting back up in Week 14 as well. Being a divisional game, it’s a chance for both teams to start the 2020 season off on the right foot.
Let’s start with the reason for all the heat between Cleveland and Baltimore.
The rivalry
The Browns/Ravens rivalry is one of the more unique stories in the entire NFL, as one team was essentially the rib of the other. In 1995, Browns owner Art Modell moved his team out of the city that it had called home since it’s inception in 1946. Modell’s desire for a brand new stadium was a goal not shared by the authorities in Cleveland. The team was made to leave behind their name and history in Cleveland and became the Baltimore Ravens. Essentially this made the Ravens an expansion team, although one with an existing roster and two first-round picks in the 1996 NFL Draft.
After three seasons without a team, during which a brand new stadium was built, the Browns were reactivated in Cleveland for 1999 and joined the Ravens in the then-AFC Central division.
Modell remained an unpopular figure in Cleveland for the rest of his life (he sadly died in 2012). Never the most popular owner with the Browns fans, “The Move” only intensified the ill feelings towards him that had started in 1963 when he fired founding coach Paul Brown. But as much as he was vilified by the fans in Cleveland, Modell was a popular figure with the people of Baltimore after bringing the NFL back to the city following the Colts elopement in 1983.
Let’s move on to how the rivalry has fared over the two decades it’s existed, on the next page.
On the field
In terms of competition, it has been a fairly one-sided rivalry over the years.
The Ravens own a 31-11 record over the Browns and have swept Cleveland 12 times over 21 years. The Browns have swept the Ravens just twice, defeating the defending Super Bowl champions both times in the regular season in 2001 and then again in 2007. Some of the reason for Baltimore’s dominance has been an ever-changing front office and coaching staff in Cleveland. Where the Ravens have had just three head coaches over 25 years, the Browns are now on their 12th.
Looking more recently, Baltimore hired John Harbaugh to be its coach prior to the 2008 season. In the 12 seasons in charge, the Ravens have gone 20-4 against the Browns. Baltimore has won two Super Bowls since coming into existence, while the Browns have just a single post-season berth since 1999 and none since the 2002 season.
The leading figures
Passing:
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco went 17-3 as a starter against the Browns, passing for 4,638 yards in those games and tossing 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The Browns quarterback with the most games against the Ravens in Tim Couch, who went 3-5 in his eight games from 1999-2003. Couch passed for 1,264 yards and had 12 interceptions against just five touchdown throws.
Rushing:
There have been 16 instances of a Ravens player rushing for 100-plus yards against the Browns, with six of those going to running back Jamal Lewis. Lewis, who also spent time with the Browns in his career, rushed for more than 200 yards against Cleveland twice, including a then-NFL record 295 yards in Week 2 of the 2003 season. In comparison, the Browns have had just four 100-yard rushers. The most recent was Nick Chubb, who accounted for 165 yards and three touchdowns against the Ravens last season.
Receiving:
Wide receiver Anquan Boldin has the best stat sheet for a Baltimore pass catcher in the series after he caught eight passes for 142 yards and three touchdowns in Week 4 back in 2010. There have only been nine 100-yard receiving games by Browns receivers, with Jarvis Landry owning two of them. Landry had eight receptions for 167 yards in the Week 4 meeting last season.
Defense:
Terrell Suggs played 29 games for the Ravens against the Browns, and in these games, he had 19.0 sacks. This dwarfs the leading producer for the Browns, with Kenard Lang chipping in with 5.5 sacks in his eight games in the series.
