Cleveland was game in a 21-18 loss to Pittsburgh last week. Baltimore forced 5 TOs in a 20-0 blanking of Cincinnati last Sunday.
Browns rookie QB DeShone Kizer was sacked 7 times last week and threw an interception. He still had a decent performance but will be up against it vs. a defense that picked off 4 passes, recovered a fumble and mustered 5 sacks against the Bengals. He found 8 different receivers and will need to quickly go through his progressions this Sunday as he is likely to see many different looks and blitzes from the Ravens defense. Cleveland rushed for only 57 yards last week and the Ravens pride themselves on their run defense. RB Isaiah Crowell needs to get the tough inside yards and keep Kizer out of 3rd-and longs.
The Ravens’ game plan last week was simple: run the ball and then run it some more. They totaled 157 yards on 42 carries as both RBs Terrance West and Buck Allen gained 70+ yards. The Browns run defense against Pittsburgh was superb (17-35) and look for them to key on the run and force QB Joe Flacco to consistently make plays. Flacco was out for 6 weeks prior to last week’s game and it showed (9-17, 121 yards). Cleveland couldn’t handle WR Antonio Brown but the Ravens don’t have a dynamic receiver the caliber of Brown. If the Browns can handle the run, they should be able to force some punts and get their offense the ball more frequently than last week.
Public Money Consensus
In this week 2 NFL matchup between Cleveland and Baltimore have the public leaning slightly to the Ravens to cover the big spread of 8.5 with 56% on board. The over/under bettors definitively believe this game is going to stay under the posted total line of 39 with 80%.
