ExtremeRavens Posted Wednesday at 08:07 PM Posted Wednesday at 08:07 PM Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy is coming off a disappointing season opener, but his confidence hasn’t wavered. In fact, Jeudy doesn’t see any reason to be worried about a Ravens defense that allowed 497 total yards and 41 points in an epic Week 1 collapse against the Buffalo Bills. When asked what challenges Baltimore’s defense and its notable names in the secondary present, the 26-year-old former Alabama star gave a blunt answer. “No challenges,” he told reporters Wednesday. It’s a bold statement from a wide receiver who not only led the league with 13 drops last season but had a pass bounce off his hands that was intercepted and dropped a crucial fourth-down pass in Cleveland’s 17-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Quarterback Joe Flacco’s pass to Jeudy over the middle late in the third quarter should have converted a second-and-16 in Cleveland territory, but the ball was tipped into the air on Jeudy’s diving attempt and was picked off by safety Jordan Battle. That led to a go-ahead 35-yard field goal by Evan McPherson, which proved to be the decisive points. “Flacco did a good job. The two turnovers were unfortunate picks,” said Jeudy, who still led the Browns with five catches for 66 yards. “We had them in our hands.” Despite Cleveland outgaining its in-state and AFC North rivals 327-141 and holding the ball for more than 35 minutes Sunday, that turnover, another interception that bounced off the hands of wide receiver Cedric Tillman and two missed kicks by Andre Szmyt ultimately cost the Browns a chance for a stunning Week 1 upset. Now Cleveland heads to Baltimore on Sunday with a chance to hand the Ravens a second consecutive loss in what will be Flacco’s first game at M&T Bank Stadium with the opposing team. Baltimore is licking its wounds from a shocking night in Orchard Park, New York, in which a defense that said all offseason that it wanted to be “feared” again wilted late against reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Josh Allen, who delivered the fourth-most passing yards in the fourth quarter this century with a whopping 251 in the final 15 minutes. Safety Kyle Hamilton said the performance made him sick to his stomach. “We know what we have and that’s all that’s important,” Ravens rookie safety Malaki Starks said when asked about Jeudy’s comments. “Like I said, we want to continue to get better. We didn’t have the outcome that we wanted last game but that doesn’t define us. We got a great group so I’m excited.” On paper, Sunday’s game is still a mismatch, with the Ravens considered a Super Bowl contender and the Browns a candidate to finish with the league’s worst record. The spread favors the Ravens by 11 1/2 points, and in Jeudy’s mind, “that’s disrespectful.” “But at the end of the day, if they think Baltimore can beat us like that, we’re gonna have to prove another thing,” said Jeudy, who made a combined 11 catches for 142 yards in two games against the Ravens last season as the teams split the series. Perhaps Jeudy is feeling confident in Flacco getting a measure of revenge against the team that drafted him out of Delaware in 2008 and which Flacco led to a Super Bowl title in the 2012 season with one of the best playoff runs by a quarterback in NFL history. Jeudy himself knows a thing or two about revenge games, catching nine passes for a career-high 235 yards in his first game back in Denver last season after the Broncos traded him for a pair of late-round draft picks. “He’s still got a lot left in the tank,” Jeudy said of Flacco. “You’ve seen it on Sunday. He’ll make a completion driving down the field, giving his guys opportunities. He’ll make the right reads. I feel like he’s still got a lot left.” Flacco said Wednesday that he still has “nothing but love for the people in that facility and the people in that city” and is excited to play again in Baltimore with friends and family from New Jersey making the short drive in. Jeudy, on the other hand, doesn’t want the pleasantries to get in the way of beating the Ravens. “As a competitor, of course you want to be able to dominate your former team,” Jeudy said. “That’s what you play for.” Baltimore Sun reporter Sam Cohn contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon. READER POLL: Does Ravens’ collapse vs. Bills alter your expectations for the season? View the full article Quote
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