Baltimore Beatdown
The Ravens face what can be considered their first ‘trap’ game’ on this win streak. The Ravens head up north to take on the Cleveland Browns on the road. The Ravens have struggled in Cleveland, so how can they avoid ruining the magic they’ve been building up since the bye week?
I said it for the first matchup, and I’m saying it again. The Ravens are clearly the better team here, playing a rookie quarterback on a two-win team. You can’t even call this a ‘trap game’ if they lose because the team knows the stakes standing at 4-5 after a horrendous start. They also know how much they’ve struggled in Cleveland recently after losing three game in their last four visits. If the Ravens don’t turn the ball over and play a simple game like they did against Minnesota, taking points when they can, they will win.
Gabriel took over the Browns’ starting quarterback job five games ago. Since then, he’s been sacked 17 times, or an average of more than three per game. His offensive line has been near the bottom of the league this season. With the Ravens’ somewhat revitalized pass rush, Gabriel should be under siege all game long.
With the addition of Dre’Mont Jones, Travis Jones stepping up, and Carl Lawson potentially being active this game, I expect a similar game to Minnesota. The Ravens finished with 12 hits on J.J. McCarthy, a season high, showing improvement, but only converted one sack. Gabriel is known for not holding the ball and a quick release in the short game, one of the reasons the Browns have been starting him over Shedeur Sanders, who does like to hold the ball. With the Browns likely to lean on the quick game, I expect another lower sack total, but I’d like to see the Ravens try to set a new season high in quarterback hits in back-to-back weeks.
In the first game against the Browns, their defense sold out to stop Derrick Henry. Henry averaged only 2.1 yards per carry on 11 attempts in that game as the Ravens ended up shifting to a pass-heavy attack, which worked in their favor. I expect the Ravens to carry over much of their offensive game plan against the Vikings into this one, with the quick-pass game likely a main focus to neutralize the Browns’ effective pass rush led by Myles Garrett. The Ravens have used designed QB runs to create traffic for Garrett before, but they should find other ways to do so to limit Jackson’s exposure to hits.
With Justice Hill out in this one, I’d also like to see Mitchell’s usage skyrocket. Mitchell has gotten a handful of touches per game in the last three weeks, with one or two going for an explosive play. That should double in this game. Monken should use Mitchell to attack the outside and make the...
