Ravens lose their grip on AFC North
The Cleveland Browns arrived at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday with one of the NFL’s more disappointing offenses. Turns out, all they needed was an afternoon against the Ravens defense.
Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield went 20-for-30 for 342 yards, one touchdown and an interception, running back Nick Chubb rushed 20 times for 165 yards and three touchdowns, and receiver Jarvis Landry had eight catches for 167 yards to lead Cleveland to a 40-25 win at M&T Bank Stadium and a tie for first place in the AFC North. The meeting was the teams’ first since Week 17 last season, when the Ravens secured their first division title since 2012.
The Ravens (2-2), who finished last season with the NFL’s top-ranked defense, allowed 530 yards against an offense that entered Week 4 averaging just 333 yards per game. The loss continued a humbling trend against young quarterbacks: The previous two weeks, the Ravens also allowed 349 passing yards to Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and 374 to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
In Mayfield’s second start against Lamar Jackson, he left no doubt over who had the better afternoon. Jackson was 20-for-30 for 153 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, in addition to nine carries for 66 yards.
But at the season’s quarter-way mark, it’s the Ravens defense that has the most issues. The team was again disorganized in the secondary, which is missing starting outside cornerback Jimmy Smith and slot cornerback Tavon Young. The Ravens, who were also without starting defensive tackle Brandon Williams (knee) on Sunday, missed tackles in the open field. Chubb all but put the game away with an 88-yard touchdown sprint in the fourth quarter that pushed Cleveland’s lead to 30-18.
Instant analysis
Daniel Oyefusi, reporter: I was willing to give the Ravens defense a pass for their performance last week, given that it came against the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player in the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes. But the showing at home against the Browns was embarrassing. The unit was pushed around, beat at all levels and looked slow facing what was an underperforming Browns offense entering Sunday. The Ravens offense wasn’t great, but aside from a fumble by Mark Ingram II in Cleveland territory, it didn’t put the defense in bad spots and avoided big mistakes. The Ravens let an opportunity to take a two-game lead in the AFC North fall out of their hands. Next week’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers is starting to feel like a must-win.
Mike Preston, columnist: A loss to the Browns would have been so much easier to take if the Ravens just had one problem on defense, but this was a disaster. It was the most pathetic effort since the Ravens won the Super Bowl at the end of the 2000 season. Coverages were broken, tackles were missed and the Ravens took some poor angles of pursuit to ball carriers. This defense was as bad as the ones the Ravens had when they first moved to Baltimore in the mid 1990’s.
Jonas Shaffer, reporter: No one saw the Browns outscoring the Chiefs. But no one saw the Ravens defense turning into the sieve it’s become the past two games. The Ravens’ new pieces haven’t fit like they should, and the established veterans haven’t risen to the occasion yet. Lamar Jackson wasn’t great, but there are more questions on defense than offense.
Peter Schmuck, columnist: The Ravens got a nasty wake-up call and woke up screaming. The Browns finally lived up to their preseason hype and the Ravens defense lived down to the concerns that have surfaced over the first four weeks.
Three defensive breakdowns of 59 yards or more made it impossible for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offense to keep up with the very balanced Browns attack … not that Jackson was entirely blameless. He turned the ball over a couple of times and struggled to locate some potentially key passes. He also fell victim to a couple of glaring mistakes by receivers that cost the Ravens important gains.
Not a good day, to say the least.
Childs Walker, reporter: This was a catastrophic performance by the Ravens defense. From blown coverages to missed tackles to their complete inability to reach Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, they failed on every conceivable front. We have to reassess the team’s big-picture prospects, because it’s now fair to ask whether the Ravens can stop any reasonable NFL offense. If you’re looking for bright spots, Marlon Humphrey blanketed Odell Beckham Jr., and the Ravens still moved the ball efficiently on the ground. But if they’re asked to win high-scoring shootouts week after week, this is going to be a long season.