Dawgs By Nature
The Cleveland Browns seemed to gain some respect with their Week 1 effort against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Baltimore Ravens had their own version of a meltdown that cost them the game. This will be an interesting week, because if the Browns’ defense is for real, then there is no reason to think Baltimore is in for a cakewalk. With that said, the perception out there is that Baltimore is a top team in the NFL. So while the Browns are getting some respect, the feeling is, “Yeah, just not this week against the Ravens.”
Here is what the national media is saying about the Week 2 game between the Browns and Ravens:
The Ravens will be looking to bounce back from a brutal loss to the Bills on Sunday night. It’s hard to get past that, but this team and this coach can do it. The Browns played well on defense against the Bengals, but this is another tough challenge. The Ravens will get back on track.
If we were to rank the most painful losses of Week 1, the losses by the Browns and Ravens would probably top the list. The Browns held the Bengals to just 141 yards of offense, but still managed to lose, because they’re the Browns. Since the NFL expanded to 17 games in 2021, teams were 19-0 when holding their opponent to 145 yards or less, but that streak is over thanks to the Browns.
I don’t necessarily trust Joe Flacco, but he outplayed Joe Burrow in Week 1 and there’s no reason to think he can’t put up decent numbers against a Ravens defense that surrendered 389 passing yards in their opener. Yes, that was against Josh Allen, but this is the same Ravens defense that gave up the second-most passing yards in the NFL last year, and it doesn’t look like they’ve fixed anything. There is no one Flacco wants to beat more than the Ravens, so I’m starting to feel like he might go off for 300 yards.
One other thing about this matchup is that it feels like a trap game for the Ravens. They opened with the Bills, and after playing the Browns this week, they’ll play the Lions in Week 3 and the Chiefs in Week 4. If you were going to overlook one team during that stretch, I’m guessing it wouldn’t be the Bills, Lions or Chiefs.
I think the Browns take this down to the wire before finding a new way to lose that’s even more painful than the way they lost last week.
Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry added up to blowing another big fourth-quarter lead, so the focus will be on trying to dominate wire-to-wire, staying hot and aggressive after a fast start to...
