Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens: Game Preview
Oct 4, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback
Josh McCown(13) throws a pass during the third quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
It has been a dreary couple of weeks for the Cleveland Browns, but they plan on having a better day this Sunday. This weekend’s game is the first for Cleveland against a division opponent as they travel to Baltimore to play the Ravens.
The Browns are very down but by no means are out of things just yet. A win Sunday and a Pittsburgh loss would still have them tied for second in the AFC North. Given how everything has played out so far, that would be a great position to be in at the end of Week 5.
The Ravens are in a similar struggling position as the Browns. Baltimore has the same identical 1-3 record after beating Pittsburgh last Thursday night. Even worse than that, the Ravens are feeling the effects of the injury bug early this season. Terrell Suggs, Steve Smith Sr., and Matt Elam will all be out against the Browns come Sunday. Those are all players that have been key to the Ravens success the past couple years. Those injuries will ease the Browns burden this Sunday.
However, the Browns are far from a team that can simply win by just showing up to games. The offense last weekend did pretty well. Yet they did not finish a few drives with TDs and left points on the field as a result. This was crucial seeing how the Browns only lost to San Diego by three points.
On the other side is the Browns defense which is all but lost so far in 2015. The Browns defense, which is the highest paid defense in football, is the worst overall team defense so far in 2015 (as of October 7, 2015). This was a defense that was thought to be a top five defense in the NFL coming into this season.
Despite the amount of talent they have put together, they are far from being in the top five. If the defense doesn’t get it together by Sunday, the Browns will take another loss at the hands of Joe Flacco and the Ravens.