The Baltimore Ravens have a tough battle against the Cleveland Browns coming up.
You know how this works. We’ve got four downs and we’re staring down the goal line.
We’re going for it. Here are your four downs for Week 15.
First Down: It’s beginning to look a lot like Huntley
The Ravens’ quarterback situation has been the biggest worry leading up to this Saturday’s showdown. It’s a safe assumption that Lamar Jackson won’t play this week, so all eyes have been on Tyler Huntley’s status. Huntley was a full participant in practice on Thursday, and isn’t on the final injury report at all. It’s not official yet, but it looks like we’ll see “Snoop” leading the offense.
With Huntley or without Huntley, the game plan is about the same. The Ravens need to run the ball, get enough efficiency from the passing game to have some semblance of balance, and lean on the defense. They wouldn’t change their style of play if they had to call on Anthony Brown at quarterback, it would just increase the difficulty of winning a game at FirstEnergy Stadium.
It’s important, to be honest about this game. It’s going to be a cold December day in Cleveland. The Ravens don’t have Jackson, and it’s a division battle inside. We know that this isn’t going to be a pretty game. What’s left to determine is whether or not the Ravens can sweep the Browns and get another ugly win. The last time these teams played, the Ravens got away with mistakes late in the fourth quarter for a 23-20 win. Ravens vs. Browns was a hot mess once and it will be a hot mess again in the chill of Cleveland.
It’s starting to look a lot like we’re going to see Huntley. That gives the Ravens a fighting chance.
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2nd Down: Speaking of quarterbacks
Deshaun Watson enters the rivalry for the first time. If you haven’t been living under a rock, you know why Watson missed the first battle with Baltimore. We’ll keep it PG-13 here and avoid massaging the point too much. We knew this day was coming when the Browns sold their soul for their new quarterback. What we didn’t know is that the Browns would almost seem scarier with Jacoby Brissett.
Brissett was a sharp 22 for 27 passing for 258 yards in round 1 of Ravens vs. Browns. Brissett wasn’t a problem for his team during his time filling in. He threw for 2,608 yards, 12 touchdowns, and six interceptions. The Browns average 368.8 yards per game and that gives them the sixth-ranked offense in the NFL. To be fair, the Browns are the Nick Chubb show, but it’s important to give Brissett credit for leading a very viable attack.
Watson is shaking off the rust. He’s played the past two games and it hasn’t been a gloriously successful return. He has a completion percentage under 60, and he’s thrown a touchdown but he has two interceptions. The defense and special teams got Cleveland past the Houston Texans, then the Browns got squished by the Bengals.
Watson has more talent than Brissett, but it looks like Watson taking the starting job is just messing with a good thing, for now.
Third Down: Will Chubb be a problem?
The Ravens must stop the run to win this game. To do that they have to slow down one of the best running backs in the NFL, Nick Chubb. Good teams have found a way to get that done. The Bengals only allowed Chubb 34 yards last week. The Buffalo Bills held him to 19 rushing yards.
Numbers like that would be a dream for Mike Macdonald’s defense. The last time these teams clashed though, Chubb was a problem, with 91 yards and 5.7 yards per carry. If Chubb has a great fantasy football day, that probably means the Ravens had a brutal day in reality.
The Ravens were up to the task of stopping Chubb a year ago. Last year in Cleveland, he only managed 59 yards against the Ravens and averaged 3.5 yards per attempt. In Baltimore’s 16-10 victory at M&T Bank Stadium, the Browns rushed for a lowly 40 yards. They need to have this kind of performance on Saturday.
The Ravens have to make the Browns one dimensional and put Watson in uncomfortable situations.
Fourth Down: Where is Mark?
The obvious thing to talk about next would be the Ravens’ running game, but I’m looking for an X-Factor. It’s not quite as hard as finding Waldo, but I’m looking for Mark Andrews. Would you believe it if I told you that Andrews hasn’t had a touchdown since the 24-20 loss against the New York Giants? Would you believe me if I told you that Andrews hasn’t had more than 63 yards receiving during this touchdown reception drought? The numbers don’t make sense. How is one of the elite tight ends in the NFL struggling this much?
The biggest problem is that Andrews is the top priority of the opponent every time the Ravens throw the football. Andrews has always received a lot of attention from defensive backs and linebackers but things got even more crowded for him when the Ravens lost Rashod Bateman for the season. Defenses are selling out to stop the run and they are bracketing Andrews in coverage. You have to take what’s there, but life without Andrews going off has been a real challenge.
Andrews used to be good for six to 10 catches and 100 yards no matter what. This is a player who had 107 catches last year. Andrews had at least five catches in 13 games last year. He’s only had one game in the last five weeks where he’s had more than four receptions. Spreading the football around is great. Leaning on Andrews too much has been a problem in the past.
All of that being said, the Ravens desperately need to get more big plays from their most talented weapon. The Browns game is a good time for Andrews to get back into superstar form.
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