The Baltimore Ravens will face the Cleveland Browns this Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET, broadcasted live on CBS. That Sunday afternoon matchup at Huntington Bank Field is an important one for the Ravens. They hope to reverse their recent woes in Cleveland, where they have dropped three of their last four contests there. It has in the past been a tough place for Baltimore to play, as the Ravens haven’t swept the Browns since 2020.
Baltimore Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh knows what awaits his team when they land in Cleveland. He particularly highlights the Browns’ dominant defense and veteran offensive line as big factors for their previous defeats. Or at least the Ravens can’t seem to do it when it really counts. This was especially true when considering their narrow 24-22 defeat against them in 2021, the game where quarterback Lamar Jackson suffered a season-ending ankle injury.
The Ravens have been favored by 7.5 points on ESPN BET coming into this matchup this season. They’re looking forward to continuing the momentum from that success. With Jackson returning as a full participant in Thursday’s practice, he has his man back and equipped to make his first start when the Browns come to town. As of earlier this week, there was some worry that Jackson wouldn’t play at all with his knees sore. Now that he is playing ball, it bodes well for Baltimore.
In the past few years, the Ravens have found it more challenging to play Cleveland than even division mates like Cincinnati. Since 2021, Baltimore has just three losses to the Bengals and a whopping four to the Browns. Linebacker Roquan Smith noted, “I think the way we started the season offered the biggest lesson of all,” underscoring the team’s focus on learning from past experiences.
The Ravens’ last three meetings with Cleveland have all ended in dramatic fashion. Instead of losing by Baltimore’s typical 12-2 mark, the Ravens fell with a bleak 13-3 on the Browns, a game in which Jackson was absent with injury. Moreover, they gave up the same type of bomb from Winston to Cedric Tillman that doomed them in 2021 to lose the game.
Even with these losses, Harbaugh continues to be encouraged by the play of his squad. He challenged his players to appreciate Cleveland’s unorthodox brand of ball. At the same time, he demanded that they get ready for the worst type of weather imaginable.
“It’s going to be cold, it’s going to be rainy, it’s going to be windy,” Harbaugh stated. We’re all veterans of this, this is Cleveland, and this is how these games play out. We’ve been groupies since day one, we have no shame in it. Thus, we need to be at our best.
The Browns feature the most exciting offensive prospects in Quinshon Judkins and Jerry Jeudy, dynamic playmakers who create problems for Baltimore’s defensive gameplan. On the Ravens’ end, they know about these challenges and are doing what they can to plan around them.
The Ravens would certainly like to move past their long history of playoff failures and pick up a badly-needed win this weekend. Enthusiastic about making progress and guided by their legacy of success, they know that the key to their bright future is taking advantage of this moment.
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