For the third time in four weeks, we have another AFC North slugfest taking place at First Energy Stadium on Sunday. The Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens are both 2-1 entering this Week 4 matchup looking to notch another divisional win under their belt as well. The Browns have turned to Elijah Moore a great deal since the injury of running back Nick Chubb, and the Ravens will continue to allow quarterback Lamar Jackson to make plays with the football in his hands.
The Browns look to advance to 3-1 for the first time in awhile as they head into their bye week next week. They will then take on the high-flying San Francisco 49ers coming out of the bye week. Getting a win this week against the Ravens will go a long way in boosting confidence and morale in Berea as they have an opportunity to further their stance as a Super Bowl contender.
Buy Browns TicketsWithout overlooking the Ravens (that would be a foolish thing to do), however, here are five things to watch in this AFC North showdown.
Can the Ravens overcome a lack of depth at wide receiver?
The Ravens have not had a good wide receiver unit in years. And it looked like they had built a formidable one this season when they signed Odell Beckham Jr. and drafted Zay Flowers in the first round. However, neither Odell Beckham Jr. nor former first rounder Rashod Bateman have practiced this week for Baltimore.
This puts a heavy emphasis on the rookie Flowers, as well as middling receivers like Nelson Agholor and Devin Duvernay. And going up against one of the better secondaries in the NFL, this might be a tough ask for the unit.
Denzel Ward is playing the best football of his career, Greg Newsome II has returned from an elbow injury playing good football, and Martin Emerson Jr. will go toe-to-toe with anybody. Life will not be easy on these Baltimore wide receivers if Bateman and Beckham Jr. cannot go.
Expect a heavy dose of Mark Andrews, which might then point the finger more at Grant Delpit (also playing the best football of his career) and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.
How will Jim Schwartz look to defend Lamar Jackson?
The Browns have been by far the best defensive unit through three weeks. There has not been much competition either as they are lapping other units in metrics like total yards, total points, first downs surrendered, Expected Points Added, and others. However, they have a unique test against Jackson and the Ravens.
Jackson is unlike any other quarterback the Browns have faced thus far in 2023 and creates another test for defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and his defense to pass. The Browns want their ends to pin their ears back and meet at the quarterback. They want their linebackers to read and correct accordingly to the action in front of them.
However, if the Browns come too hard at Jackson, he is well-equipped to take advantage of any lapses in rush lanes given to him. And outside of Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, the other linebackers are not well-equipped to chase Jackson to the boundary.
The pass rushers might have to show a bit more discipline this week, but given the lack of wide receivers with Beckham Jr. and Bateman yet to practice this week, the backend may still give them plenty of time to get home.
Can the Browns get the run game going?
Since the injury of Nick Chubb, the Browns have not been able to get the ball moving on the ground. Outside of a long bounceback run by Jerome Ford against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Browns have had no luck generating a push or creating lanes upfront.
That has to change against the Ravens this Sunday. The Browns must move away from outside zone with backs like Ford and Kareem Hunt, and establish roots as an inside zone team instead. They even found success using Watson’s legs on a read option against the Titans, even if they don’t want to expose him to hits with frequency.
They face another stout front in the form of the Ravens’ defensive interior, so it will once again be a tough game to provide movement. But the Browns have to find some semblance of a run game without Chubb.
Deshaun Watson must stack back-to-back games to instill confidence
Last week was the best Deshaun Watson has looked in a Browns uniform.
And the Browns need him to stack games and live up to the hype and the assets they surrendered to get him. Doing so against an AFC North opponent would provide a massive confidence boost to not only the team but also the fanbase as the Browns have an opportunity to head into the bye week up 2-1 in the AFC North and 3-1 on their schedule.
The Ravens will look to get pressure, but their edge rushers have not been overly concerning this season. Their interior, however, lives up to the traditional Baltimore standards as Justin Madubuike, Broderick Washington, Michael Pierce, and Travis Jones can provide a great deal of pop up front.
They also have two linebackers in Patrick Queen and Roquan Smith who are explosive and have provided confusion in the past double mugging the A-gap. This defensive unit cannot be overlooked, and as the Browns have struggled to get anything going on the ground, this one likely falls onto the right arm of Watson again.
Can another receiver not named Amari Cooper answer the bell?
Thus far, the wide receiver unit for the Browns has been the Amari Cooper show once again. However, this may have just as much to do with the passing offense as a whole as it does with the depth of the wide receivers.
Regardless, the Browns need a second wide receiver to step up this week against the Ravens. It will be a tough game for tight end David Njoku as the Ravens have a duo of great safeties in Kyle Hamilton and Marcus Williams. However, Marlon Humphrey is once again not expected to play, so the receivers have an opportunity.
Elijah Moore has been targeted nine times in each of the last two weeks, so expect him to get a fair share of looks again. However, the Browns must get him out of gadget looks and let him run routes as he is creating a great deal of separation (as he has been known to do). We are waiting for the big Moore game to come through after the off-season hype, and this week just might be the week.
