The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
First place in North on the line
Browns-Ravens outcome is a two-game swing in standings
The Browns, aside from practicing to be ready for the Ravens this week, studied for a math test that revealed two and two would equal first place in the AFC North.
The game at 1 p.m. Sept. 29 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore is the first division game of the season for both teams. The Browns are 1-2. The Ravens lead the division at 2-1.
“If we win this game, it really counts for two, giving them a loss, giving us a win, being head-tohead up on them,” said linebacker
Joe Schobert, the Browns’ leading tackler with 27 stops. “If we can win this week, at the first quarter of the season we’ll be on top of the AFC North Division. That’s where we want to be. It would be huge for us to get a win.”
The Browns are 4-16 against the Ravens in Baltimore. They are not much better in Cleveland — 6-14 at home.
But some of the Browns’ biggest Baltimore nemeses are no longer Ravens. Quarterback Joe Flacco, now with the Broncos, was 17-3 as a starter against the Browns when he played for the Ravens. Linebacker Terrell Suggs has more sacks against the Browns — 19 — than against any other team. Suggs now plays for Arizona after 16 seasons with the Ravens.
Outside linebacker Matthew Judon (three sacks) has replaced Suggs as the Ravens’ top pass rusher.
Lamar Jackson displaced Flacco in midseason last year. The Ravens, desirous to be a run-oriented team, signed former New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram in free agency. He leads Baltimore with 257 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
Meanwhile, the Browns are still trying to get a solid footing offensively. They rank 24th of 32 teams in team offense. They are tied for 27th in points per game (16.3).
“To me, it’s a matter of collectively putting plays together and stacking them,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken said. “That’s how you become consistent. At times, we do that and at times we don’t do that. When we do that, we’re a pretty good football team offensively.
“Obviously, we’re not satisfied with where we are offensively so obviously we have to coach better and we have to play better. That’s just the start of it. That’s the simple answer to it. Internally, we have to do better to be more consistent. That’s the bottom line.”
Nick Chubb had his busiest day of the season last week against the Rams when he carried 23 times for 96 yards. He also caught four passes for 35 yards.
The Browns would like to feature Chubb against the Ravens with the hope a successful running attack will open up the pass offense. That will be dependent on tackles Greg Robinson and Chris Hubbard protecting quarterback Baker Mayfield and Mayfield getting the ball out quickly without throwing another interception. Only Matt Ryan of the Falcons has thrown more picks (six) than the five thrown by Mayfield.
Mayfield threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter of the 4313 loss to the Titans in the opener. He threw one in the Jets game and another on fourth down on the Browns’ final offensive play in the game with the Rams on Sept. 22.
“I think we’re very close to putting together the game that our offense needs to have,” Mayfield said. “Like I keep saying — eliminating the mistakes, everybody doing their job on every play. Stuff is going to happen during the game and you’re going to have to adjust, but I think we’re very close.”
The Browns haven’t been 2-2 since 2013. They were 3-2 that season and won just one of their last 11 games.