Following a big win, I always like to go back and look at the box score and find some”deep dive” type stats, somewhat for the sake of feeling even better about the game, but also to rub some salt in the wound of the opponent.
Let’s have fun with numbers, shall we?
With the Ravens’ win over the Browns last night, the Ravens will finish no worse than 3-3 in the AFC North for the 13th straight season.
For those who did the quick math, this means that in every season of John Harbaugh’s entire career as the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, his team has played .500+ ball against AFC North foes. His overall regular season record in the division now sits at 48-29, with a 22-4 record against the Browns, including nine season sweeps of Cleveland along the way.
Is that good? Kinda feels like it’s good…
The Ravens’ 231 rushing yards were the most allowed by Cleveland on the season, and the second time in three games against the Browns that the Ravens broke the 200-yard mark on the ground.
The supposedly ‘daunting’ Browns defensive line is supposed to be one of the best in the league – and they are a fierce pass rushing unit for sure – but their run defense is surely suspect.
Consider this: the Browns have given up 200+ rushing yards five times in the past two seasons, with the Ravens accounting for a pair of those games (243 yards in Week 16 of 2019, 231 yards last night). The other three games were against the 49ers and the Cardinals in 2019, and the Raiders this season.
The Ravens have scored 141 points against the Browns in their last four meetings.
Comparatively, they’ve scored just 92 points against fellow AFC North rival Pittsburgh over their past four games, and in order to meet the lofty 141 total that the Ravens have put up against Cleveland, Lamar Jackson & Company would need to put up 39 points against the Bengals in Week 17.
Clearly, Jackson and the Ravens offense have the Browns’ number, but let’s take a deeper look at what Lamar has done against them…
Jackson’s career stat line vs Cleveland (5 Games): 89/132 (67.4%) 1,102 yards, 10 TDs, 2 INTs, 65 carries, 438 yards, 4 rush TDs.
*I didn’t include his one pass attempt in 2018’s first matchup, as Joe Flacco was still the starter at the time.
Lamar is averaging nearly three touchdowns per game against the Browns, and only has four total turnovers (two picks and two fumbles lost). Comparatively, in Baker Mayfield’s six starts against Baltimore, he has a worse completion percentage (67.4% vs 58.6%) & TD:INT Ratio (10:2 vs 10:8) through the air, but we can go Total TD:TO Ratio (14:4 vs 11:8) if that’s your thing too.
The Browns were credited with SEVEN fumbles Monday night.
I know this stat got a little bump with the attempted trickery late in the game as the Browns grasped at straws, and this actually wasn’t close to the record of 10 forced fumbles. I also know that there’s a ton of teams that have had between eight and 10 fumbles over the course of NFL history (the Steelers’ eight against Cleveland in 2012 is the highest/most recent), and in turn the Browns’ seven fumbles were nowhere close to the top, but I included this simply because it’s friggin’ hilarious.
Tyus Bowser picked off a Baker Mayfield pass, the 3rd on the season for Bowser, the most ever by a Ravens outside linebacker in a single season.
I could’ve sworn Terrell Suggs would’ve had a three-pick season, maybe even Elvis Dumervil during his time here, but Tyus Bowser stands as the only Ravens Outside Linebacker with three picks in a single season.
Even if you made the more general ‘Linebacker’ designation and looked at all Ravens linebackers with three interceptions, it remains a short list:
C.J. Mosley (2017): 4
Daryl Smith (2013): 3
Ray Lewis (2008): 3
Ray Lewis (2003): 6
Ray Lewis (2001): 3
Ray Lewis (1999): 3
Not bad company for Bowser.
