Ravens set sights on key AFC North victory against Browns
OWINGS MILLS — The Ravens cannot afford a slip against the struggling Cleveland Browns.
Baltimore and the Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for first place in the AFC North at 5-2. Baltimore has a chance to win two games inside the division with a victory over Cleveland. The Steelers are favored to beat the visiting New York Giants on Monday night but have yet play an AFC North opponent.
The Browns have lost five straight games and have made major changes to their offense heading into Sunday’s game against the Ravens.
Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski named Jameis Winston as the starting quarterback over Dorian Thompson-Robinson after the Browns lost Deshaun Watson to an Achilles injury. In addition, Stefanski announced that he is turning play-calling over to offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. Running back Nick Chubb is also back in the lineup after missing the past year with a knee injury.
“They’re going to want to run the ball,” Ravens cornerback Arthur Maulet said about the Browns. “It’s AFC North football, and they want to keep the ball out of Lamar [Jackson]’s hands. So, they’re going to want to run the ball, and we’ll stop that, obviously. So then, we have to get them on third-and-long and stop the pass. That’s what we have to do.”
The Ravens are favored by 8 points mainly because of the one-two punch of quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry. The duo has won the past four AFC Offensive Player of the Week awards. Jackson won in weeks 5 and 7, and Henry won in weeks 4 and 6.
Jackson is having another MVP-caliber season and has thrown for 1,810 yards and is second in the NFL with 15 touchdown passes. Henry leads the NFL with 873 yards rushing.
The Ravens will be aggressive in running the ball against the Browns, who allow 126.1 yards rushing per game — ranked 11th in the NFL. Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah leads the team with 53 tackles.
In addition to Henry, Jackson is a threat to pick up yards running the ball and Justice Hill is having a solid season, averaging 4.0 yards per carry. If Cleveland stacks the box, Jackson has shown he can make plays downfield.
“We’ve had many, many tough battles in Cleveland [and] with Cleveland,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “[They’re a] very physical football team; very aggressive football team; very hungry football team, and we understand that. [It’s a] tough environment always, especially for the Ravens. We’re looking forward to it, [and] we’re excited about the opportunity.”