The Browns have three things going for them: playing at home, a defense that’s tough to run against, and Gordon back on offense. But they don’t have enough talent or luck to beat playoff-hungry Baltimore.
WHAT: Week 15, Game 14 at Cleveland Browns
WHEN: 1 p.m. (ET); Sunday, December 17
WHERE: FirstEnergy Stadium; Cleveland (67,431)
RECORDS: Ravens, 7-6; Browns, 0-13
LIFETIME SERIES (regular season): Ravens lead, 28-9; Ravens lead in Cleveland, 13-5, and have won three straight there, including eight of the last nine
TV: WJZ-TV, Channel 13 (Tom McCarthy, Steve Beuerlein, Steve Tasker, booth; Melanie Collins, sidelines)
RADIO: WIYY-FM, 97.9 (Gerry Sandusky, Stan White, Jarret Johnson)
REFEREE: Clete Blakeman
About the Browns
—Along with the Baltimore Colts, the Browns franchise was born as part of the All-America Football Conference. Cleveland won all four of that league’s championships. Since joining the NFL in 1950 the Browns have won 18 division titles and earned 24 playoff berths (tied for the league’s tenth-most).
—The Browns’ recent history has not been stellar. The Browns are one of four franchises that have never appeared in a Super Bowl (along with Houston, Jacksonville, and Detroit). Cleveland last won an NFL championship in 1964–two seasons before the Super Bowl was born. Since returning to the league as a 1999 expansion team, Cleveland has made just two playoff appearances (2002, 2007) and has had only one winning season (2007).
—This game marks the second time in three years that the return match will be played in Cleveland. The Ravens have swept this head-to-head series 11 times–including in two of the last three years–while the Browns have recorded two sweeps (2001, 2007). There have been five splits–the most recent occurring in 2015.
—Former Ravens QB coach, Hue Jackson, is the Browns’ head coach. Ownership has announced he will return next year. He’s in his second season with the team and third as a head coach, after going 8-8 in a one-year stint at Oakland (2011). Jackson’s Cleveland record is 1-28. Jackson had been part of the Cincinnati Bengals’ coaching staff for four years as secondary, special teams, running backs, and offensive coordinator. Veteran defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, who’s a 27-year NFL assistant, is in his first year in Cleveland.
—Last season the Browns nearly became the second team in the 16-game schedule era (1978-present) to lose every regular-season game. Cleveland had lost its first 14 games in 2016—only four of them by single-digit margins—before upending the then-San Diego Chargers, 20-17, on Christmas Eve. This year, Cleveland has lost four games (three at home) by three-point margins, including one in overtime to Tennessee.
—Through 13 games this season, Cleveland ranks tied for 23rd in total offense (16th rushing, 23rd passing, 32nd and last scoring at 15.2 points per game), and 12th in total defense (sixth vs. rush, 21st vs. pass, tied for 29th scoring).
—The Browns had a minus-12 turnover ratio last year, which included a league-low three fumble recoveries. This year they’re even worse with a league-low minus-21 ratio (Baltimore has the league’s second-best at plus-13). The Browns have just 11 takeaways, tied for the league’s second-fewest, and their 32 turnovers are five more than any other team. Browns quarterbacks have thrown 23 interceptions, five more than the squad with the second-most pickoffs.
—Cleveland ranks in the middle of the league pack with 87 accepted penalties, 13 more than Baltimore. The Browns have been called for offensive holding 14 times, which is just four off the league lead. The team’s seven offensive pass interference calls are the NFL’s second-most. Four different players have committed five or more penalties, including second-year right tackle Shon Coleman (five holds, eight total flags).
—The Browns have been outscored in all four quarters this year, including by 25-point margins in both the first and third quarters. But the second quarter stands out in the ranks of Cleveland’s woes. In the second stanza, the team has been outpointed by a whopping 127-55 margin. In the fourth quarter, the Browns have been outscored by only seven points, 70-63. However, Cleveland has allowed nine overtime points, which is the difference in two extra-time losses this year. What hasn’t helped is the team’s possession-time average: it’s 28:01, which is the league’s third-worst.
—Second-year backup receiver Ricardo Louis leads the Browns in dropped passes with five (STATS, INC.) As a team, the Browns are tied for the ninth-most drops with 18, along with Chicago and Denver. San Francisco leads the league with 27. Cleveland also leads the AFC North Division in drops, with Pittsburgh just behind at 17. Baltimore (14) and Cincinnati (13) also excel in that category.
—Rookie quarterback and 2017 second-round pick, DeShone Kizer (52nd overall), will face the Ravens for the second time this year. Kizer, who’s only the second Browns rookie to ever start a season opener, completed only 15 of 31 passes for 182 yards and three interceptions in the Week Two meeting at Baltimore. But against Green Bay last week, he set career highs in touchdown passes (three) and passer rating (99.4). All told, he has nine touchdown passes, 17 interceptions, is gaining six yards per attempt, and has a season-long rating of 61.2.
—RB Isaiah Crowell ran for a 75-yard touchdown against the Ravens in Cleveland last year—part of a 133-yard game. But he could gain only 37 yards on ten carries in Baltimore in Week Two. For the season, Crowell has 716 yards (4.1 per carry) with two touchdowns. He is eighth on the Browns’ all-time rushing list. Against Green Bay, Crowell gained 4.84 yards after contact, second-most in the league last week behind Baltimore’s Alex Collins. Crowell also has 23 receptions.
—For the season, Kizer has rushed for 315 yards and a team-high five touchdowns (tied for the league lead among quarterbacks). Duke Johnson, who has 285 yards and two scores, leads the team with 56 catches out of the backfield. He is the only running back in the league with at least 50 catches in three straight years.
–After a series of suspensions, 2012 supplemental draft pick Josh Gordon will play his third game of the year. He has 154 yards in seven catches in his two games since returning–the first action he has seen since December, 2013. The other starting wideout is expected to be second-year receiver Corey Coleman, who missed six games last year with a broken hand. He re-injured the hand this year, but returned to catch five passes against Green Bay last week. He has 20 receptions this year.
—Second-year wideout Rashard Higgins also has 20 catches. He had 95 yards on seven receptions against the Ravens in September. Randall Telfer is the starting tight end, but David Njoku scored against the Ravens in Week Two–one of his four touchdowns (third among rookie tight ends). Njoku’s 29 catches are the Browns’ second-most. Seth DeValve has 28 catches and one score, and Louis has 26 receptions.
–The Browns’ offensive line contains four of the five Browns’ offensive players who’ve started all 13 games. But that unit has allowed 41 sacks and has been penalty-prone all year. Second-year left tackle Spencer Drango took over for veteran Joe Thomas in Week Seven after Thomas’ torn arm muscle ended his streak of 10,363 straight snaps. Right guard Kevin Zeitler, formerly of the Cincinnati Bengals (in his sixth year), is the most experienced player on the line. Center JC Tretter was with Green Bay, but moved to the Browns this year.
—The Browns are the league’s youngest team. 51 of the team’s 53 players were acquired by the team since 2014. Thomas (2007) is the exception. Gordon was originally selected in 2012 before being suspended. Twenty-nine players drafted by the Browns are still with the team. Cleveland drafted ten players this year (three in the first round) and currently has twelve picks in next year’s draft, including two in the first round.
—Defensively, Williams’ new 4-3 scheme–a departure from the 3-4 that the Browns used for many years–has proven to be effective against the run. Cleveland is allowing 3.3 yards per carry and 96 yards per game on the ground–the league’s sixth-fewest (29th last year) with just eight touchdowns. Williams is a blitz-oriented coordinator, but the team has only 25 sacks (with one player having as many as five). But that number does represent an improvement from last season, Cleveland recorded a mere 26 sacks in 2016, tied with Detroit for second-fewest in the NFL (Oakland had 25).
—Defensive end and top overall pick Myles Garrett (team-high five sacks) has been bothered by an ankle injury and concussion, which has forced him to miss five games, including the first meeting with Baltimore. His sack total is tied for third among the rookie class. Penn State grad Carl Nassib is the opposite end, and the tackles are former first-round pick Danny Shelton and Trevon Coley, Coley was an undrafted rookie in the Ravens’ 2016 training camp.
—Second-year middle linebacker Joe Schobert is second in the league with 120 tackles and he also has had two special-teams stops. Weak-side linebacker Christian Kirksey, who has 111 tackles and 3.5 sacks, signed a lucrative contract extension earlier this year. He has 29 tackles and a sack in his last three games against Baltimore. Schobert and Kirksey are the only teammate pair in the NFL with over 100 tackles each. Strong-side ‘backer James Burgess, Jr., who was on four different practice squads last year (Miami, San Diego, Jacksonville, and Cleveland), has 53 defensive tackles and five more on special teams. He has missed two games with a knee injury.
—The Browns intercepted ten passes last year, tied for the league’s fourth-fewest. They have just six this year. Three picks have come from free-agent pickup Jason McCourty, a former Tennessee Titan, who returned one steal 56 yards for a touchdown. He also has a team-high 12 passes defensed. Fifth-year corner Jamar Taylor has 53 tackles and nine pass breakups. Knee and toe injuries have slowed the progress of safety and first-round pick Jabrill Peppers, but he does have 43 tackles. He is paired with second-year safety Derrick Kindred.
—Kicker Zane Gonzalez, a rookie from Arizona State, was taken in the seventh round of the draft (224th overall), but he has missed 5 of 17 field-goal tries as well as an extra point. He had to take over punting duties three weeks ago when punter Britton Colquitt was out. Colquitt, part of a prolific family of punters, has 20 coffin-corner kicks and is grossing 48.5 yards per kick. But poor punt coverage (the team is allowing 11.4 yards per return) means he’s netting only 40 yards per boot. He has also had one kick blocked.
—Chris Tabor is in his seventh season as the Browns’ special teams coordinator. Over that time Cleveland has averaged 9.9 yards per punt return, which is sixth-best in the league (Baltimore is second at 10.5). Over that span, Cleveland is the only team in the league to have at least one AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award winner each year.
Prediction
Give the Browns credit. Of the Ravens’ three remaining opponents, the Browns are the only team that appears to be putting forth effort. A major reason is this: Cleveland wants to erase the possibility of being the second team to go winless since the 16-game schedule era began in 1978. Extra incentive this week comes from playing at home for the final time this season.
Cleveland has two other things going for it: a defense that’s tough to run against and Gordon’s offensive boost.
Overall, though, this team simply doesn’t have enough talent–or luck–to beat playoff-hungry Baltimore.
Ravens 30, Browns 17
