The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Kizer facing another big challenge in Ravens
A week after debuting against the Steelers, rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer will face Baltimore’s defense, which forced five turnovers in a 20-0 victory over the Bengals.
BALTIMORE » In his NFL debut, Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer went up against the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose reputation for playing rugged defense began long before the Browns rookie was born.
Having survived that test, Kizer on Sunday will face the Baltimore Ravens, whose similarly renowned defense opened the season by forcing five turnovers in a 20-0 rout of Cincinnati.
“Welcome to the NFL. Welcome to the AFC North,” Kizer said with a chuckle.
“This is what we signed up for when Cleveland decided to bring me in here. Going against Baltimore and Pittsburgh, I will learn quickly what it takes to win in this conference.”
Winning in this division has never been easy for the Browns, who have seemingly made the cellar their permanent residence in the AFC North — in part because of their struggle at quarterback.
The Browns can only hope Kizer will make a difference
for a team that went 1-15 last season and hasn’t won a road game since 2015 (in Baltimore).
Kizer, a star at Notre Dame, held up well last week in a 2118 defeat. He completed 20 of 30 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown, and ran for a score.
Now, the kid hits the road for the first time against a defense that last week harassed veteran Andy Dalton from start to finish.
“He’s going to face a very hostile crowd and a really good defense. That’s what I’ve told him,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said. “The Baltimore Ravens are one of the flagship organizations and have done a great job with coach (John) Harbaugh.”
If Kizer ever gets to play on a team with a defense as good as Baltimore’s, he will learn that winning isn’t always dependent upon the quarterback’s performance. Coming off a back injury that forced him to miss the entire preseason, Ravens starter Joe Flacco didn’t complete a pass in the second half last week because, well, he didn’t have to.
“It was obviously one of those games where we weren’t going to go crazy and throw for 600 yards,” Flacco said. “It doesn’t really matter to me. I just want to win.”
Some things to know about the Browns-Ravens matchup:
No second chances
Though Cleveland’s Isaiah Crowell was limited to 33 yards on 17 carries last week, he moved past Bobby Mitchell into ninth place on the team career list with 2,298 yards.
He also peeled off an 85yard touchdown run against Baltimore last season. “He’s definitely a big-play guy,” Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “He can break tackles, so we have to make sure to gang-tackle.”
The teacher
Jackson was Baltimore’s quarterbacks coach during Flacco’s first two seasons, and he’s looking to tutor Kizer in much the same fashion.
“Here’s a young guy who’s trying to acquire some of the things Joe has had happen for him in his career. The blueprint for me of bringing Joe along, there are some things there I might use for DeShone. I’ll use what works for DeShone the best. But I will take some things that I used with Joe.”
Respect for Thomas
Browns left tackle Joe Thomas hasn’t missed a game — or an offensive play — since joining the Browns as the third overall pick in 2007. The 10-time Pro Bowler has streak of 9,996 successive snaps and will break 10,000 early in the first quarter. “That is legit,” Terrell Suggs said. “That is pretty amazing, especially in this league. It is a physical league for his position. That is a pretty awesome milestone and accomplishment.”