The first two weeks of the NFL season have been full of surprises and upsets. My picks in week one were dreadful to put it bluntly.
The Bills over the Bears?
Miami’s defense making Tom Brady look old and slow?
Parity seems to be at an all time high in 2014.
Perhaps the biggest shocker of the first two weeks though was seeing Cleveland upset the Saints yesterday. By doing so they sent a message to the Ravens and the rest of the league that these aren’t the same dreadful Browns we’ve grown accustom to finishing 4-12 every year.
While there is no such thing as an easy win in the NFL, the Ravens have fared better against some teams than others, the Browns being one of them. Baltimore has dominated Cleveland in the Joe Flacco-John Harbaugh era. They are 11-1 since 2008, with the only loss coming last year in a hard fought 24-18 loss in Cleveland.
How does the saying go? Even a broken clock is right twice a day…
Cleveland had to get one at some point, right? And when the schedule was released this year games against Cleveland were two that fans could count on for a victory.
Well, not so fast.
While all the hype in Cleveland this offseason was about Johnny Manziel, he’s riding the pine. And guess what? Brian Hoyer is 4-1 as Cleveland’s starter dating back to last year before he suffered a season-ending ACL injury. Baltimore native Terrance West was impressive in his first NFL start yesterday. Playing against his hometown team he will be motivated to show the Ravens what they missed out on not taking him earlier in the draft.
Defensively the Browns are stout. They finished 9th overall in team defense last year, and seem to have picked up right where they left off. Steve Smith will face his biggest test so far as he’ll likely be matched up with Joe Haden.
Week 3 serves as the Ravens first road test. The Dawg Pound is never an easy place to play, especially for Baltimore, and after a huge upset against the Saints, the Ravens can expect it to be even louder. There is no doubt John Harbaugh is cranking the music and crowd noise in Owings Mills this week.
Can the Ravens avoid the slow starts that have plagued them on the road?
Will the offense be effective early on and help take the crowd out of the game?
Last week was tough. The Ravens rallied together as a team and played a flawless game and got a much needed win at home against a division rival. Harbaugh and the coaches deserve a lot of credit for drawing up a great game plan, and more importantly having the Ravens ready mentally. It was no easy task considering the tumultuous events surrounding last week.
Now after a weekend off, they need dig in again. The Ravens need to go into Cleveland physically and mentally prepared for a tough game. Both teams enter riding a wave of momentum after big wins.
It’s only week 3, and this is by no means a must win for either team. But whoever comes out on top will position themselves well in what is likely to be a tight division race.
The loser will put themselves in a difficult hole that they will have to scratch and claw their way out of.
