ExtremeRavens Posted 7 hours ago Posted 7 hours ago After spending all week lamenting a preposterous spiral and 15-point blown lead in Buffalo, the Ravens can finally turn their attention to their home opener against Cleveland. This matchup will do one of two things, offer a confidence-boosting beatdown or raise serious concerns about the veracity of this season’s end goals. Who will have the advantage in Week 2? Ravens passing game vs. Browns pass defense In more games than not, Lamar Jackson does something that nearly no other quarterback in the NFL can do. Against Buffalo, it was his 15-yard backward scramble, hounded by two hulking defensive linemen. Jackson had his back to the first-down line, he jabbed right then left, spun and slivered into an opening. He picked up 19 yards and a first down, traveling 75.9 total yards in the process, according to NextGenStats. That was the dazzling part of Jackson’s game we’ve come to expect. On top of that, he threw the ball for 209 yards and two scores on 14 of 19 passing. DeAndre Hopkins introduced himself to his new team with a one-handed grab for a touchdown. And Zay Flowers torched the secondary for 143 on seven catches. Baltimore’s offense looked unstoppable – at least for 3 1/2 quarters. Cleveland’s pass rush and defensive line is its strongest positional group. Myles Garrett is the head of the snake. The 2023 defensive Player of the Year has 14 or more sacks in four consecutive seasons, but managed only one quarterback hit in two games versus Baltimore last year. He’s flanked by Mason Graham, who saw more double teams than Garrett against Cincinnati. That opened lanes for Isaiah McGuire and Maliek Collins, too. Per Pro Football Focus, Cleveland had the fourth-best pass rush grade of any team in Week 1. The Ravens’ offensive line — and more notably the versatility of Todd Monken’s play calling — should be enough to keep the defense a step off balance. EDGE: Ravens Browns passing game vs. Ravens pass defense A familiar face makes his return to M&T Bank Stadium Sunday afternoon. Joe Flacco hasn’t been back in Baltimore since a 2018 injury gave way to his successor in Jackson. The last time he faced a Ravens’ defense was Week 1 2022. The then-Jets quarterback threw the ball 59 times, with one touchdown and an interception. Flacco flirted with a similar volume last week, completing 31 of 45 attempts. As coach John Harbaugh said before the start of the season, “we know Joe can sling it.” In Buffalo, the Ravens struggled mightily with passing lanes. They barely got hands on the quarterback and brought him down only once. Don’t be surprised by a corrective step from the Ravens defense. One of Flacco’s top targets had no issue taking a shot at his quarterback’s former team this week. Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy was asked on Wednesday what challenges the Ravens secondary presents. Jeudy deadpanned, “No challenges.” That’s motivational jet fuel for a group of five first-round picks and the highest paid safety in NFL history, collectively in need of a rebound performance. That is, after letting up 397 passing yards, 251 of which came in the fourth quarter on Sunday. A 40-year-old Flacco can’t hold a candle to Josh Allen, the reigning Most Valuable Player. If there’s a chance to capitalize on bulletin board material for that group and bounce back from a sickly showing, it’ll be this home opener. Looking at Week 1 in a vacuum, Cleveland gets the edge. But based on talent and the expectation for how Sunday plays out, it goes the other way. EDGE: Ravens Ravens running game vs. Browns run defense Based on what we saw Sunday night in Western New York, there may not be a better run game in the NFL. Derrick Henry, at 31 years old, built like a brick designed to trample defensive backs, still has a second gear in open space. Henry turned 18 attempts into 169 yards with two touchdowns, a dominant performance despite his costly fumble in the fourth quarter. According to NextGenStats, he hit a top speed of 21.07 miles per hour, eight-tenths slower than his career high. Through one week, he leads the NFL in rushing yards — 26 more yards than the next best on that list. Harbaugh called him explosive and fast — “it’s what we expected to see.” “Their mentality is that they don’t want to give you anything,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken said. “You have to be able to run the football against these guys. You can’t just let them tee off and get after you.” There’s still emotionless confidence in Cleveland. Browns safety Grant Delpit was asked how hard it is to bring down the 6-foot-2, 250-pound Derrick Henry. Delpit shook his head, “Not hard.” On a follow-up question, Delpit continued, “Somebody’s got the ball, you got to bring him down.” Henry returned serve with a stoic, “We’ll see on Sunday.” To Cleveland’s credit, they allowed the fewest rushing yards in the NFL last week. Cincinnati managed only 46 yards on the ground, split between Chase Brown’s 43 and Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s three. Henry is four inches taller and about 40 pounds heavier. Plus, he combined for 211 yards on 31 carries in two meetings against the Browns last year. EDGE: Ravens Ravens running back Derrick Henry, shown in Week 1 against the Bills, ran for an NFL-best 169 yards in the season opener. (Jeffrey T. Barnes/AP) Browns running game vs. Ravens run defense The biggest question mark here is Quinshon Judkins. Cleveland’s second-round rookie running back returned to practice on Thursday for the first time since minicamp. How Judkins looks in two practices will determine his availability but it would be a surprising choice to play him off two practices. Cleveland’s ground game was paced by rookie fourth-rounder Dylan Sampson, who took 12 carries for 29 yards (he was more effective as a pass catcher). Jerome Ford contributed six carries for eight yards. That lack of production against Baltimore’s top-tier run defense might leave Cleveland more inclined to push for Judkins. But that shouldn’t be enough to tip the scale. EDGE: Ravens Ravens special teams vs. Browns special teams Both the Ravens and Browns have a kicker who missed an extra point in Week 1. Both the Ravens and Browns wound up losing by one point. But there’s more reason for confidence in Baltimore’s Tyler Loop than Cleveland’s Andre Szmyt. Loop nailed two field goals, one from 52 yards, in his NFL debut. He was transparent about the timing issue of the errant extra-point. Szmyt made one 45 yarder on two attempts, a performance that required coach Kevin Stefanski to confirm he will be the kicker on Sunday. Baltimore made one other major special teams gaffe in Week 1. Jordan Stout skied a near-perfect punt that likely would have died inside the 1-yard line until linebacker Trenton Simpson came screaming into frame, sliding down and ever-so-slightly crossing the end zone line for a touchback. That’s a mistake you don’t make twice. EDGE: Ravens Ravens intangibles vs. Browns intangibles The Ravens have far more at stake. Most pundits are guaranteeing victory. Baltimore’s 0-1 start can’t drop to 0-2 heading into four straight games against playoff teams. At risk of sounding like a prisoner of the moment, the ‘confidence in this team’ scale tips pretty far if they roll over in the home opener. By no stretch would the season be over, as evidenced by the poor start to last year that still yielded a 12-5 record and second consecutive division title. It would just derail the discourse. Cleveland, meanwhile, is coming off a near upset against the Bengals. They’re projected to finish in the realm of five wins, at the bottom of the AFC North. There’s kerosine being dumped on the fire: Jeudy chirped the defense, Delpit downplayed Henry and a corner of fans on social media are irate about the Ravens’ 30th anniversary celebration being scheduled for Sunday considering the history of the two teams. If Flacco slings it and the defensive line can disrupt Jackson to extreme levels, this could turn into quite the upset. What do they have to lose? EDGE: Browns Prediction No one is looking at this game saying anything other than Baltimore is outfitted with a far more talented roster. The disparity between Super Bowl contender and projected 5-win team is stark. This is – to pull a phrase from the college ranks – the Ravens’ cupcake game in a six-week start that includes five playoffs teams. It also feels similar to Baltimore’s Week 2 loss to Las Vegas last year. And against Miami Week 2 of 2022, another late unraveling. But Joe Flacco can “still sling it,” so he should find ways to put points on the board against what appeared to be a leaky secondary. Ravens 35, Browns 21. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article Quote
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