There are sure things and then there’s what the Baltimore Ravens appear to be headed for going into their regular-season finale Saturday against the visiting Cleveland Browns.
Coming off a 31-2 win at Houston on Christmas Day that gave the Ravens a one-game lead on Pittsburgh in the AFC North, Baltimore (11-5) enters this one as a whopping 17 1/2-point favorite. And it’s understandable if one thinks the line isn’t steep enough.
After all, not only are the Ravens playing like a Super Bowl contender, but Cleveland (3-13) is playing like a team hellbent on earning the No. 1 overall draft pick. The Browns have lost five in a row and could be on the clock if they fall again, coupled with New England and Tennessee wins on Sunday.
There’s also the little matter of what happened on Oct. 27 when the teams met in Cleveland: Browns 29, Ravens 24. Jameis Winston threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns that day to end Baltimore’s five-game winning streak.
“You can look at the Browns’ record and say that’s a sorry team, but this is the NFL,” Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said after that game. “Any week can be your day.”
A lot of weeks have been Jackson’s day since then, particularly last week. Jackson set the league’s all-time career rushing record for quarterbacks with an 87-yard performance that gave him 6,110, 1 yard more than Michael Vick.
In addition, Jackson was an efficient 10 of 15 for 168 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 39 touchdown passes against just four interceptions for the season. The seventh-year pro could be in line to win Most Valuable Player honors for a third time.
“He set the all-time NFL record for rushing yards (for a quarterback) in pro football,” Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. “It’s just kind of what he does every week.”
While Jackson and the Ravens chase individual achievements and championships, Cleveland is simply ready for the clock to strike midnight on a forgettable season. The Browns wanted to take another step forward after earning a playoff spot last year but instead reverted back to the losing they’ve done for most of the past 25 years.
Cleveland is considering another quarterback change after Dorian Thompson-Robinson was ineffective for a second straight game in a 20-3 home loss Sunday against Miami. He completed just 24 of 47 passes for 170 yards and an interception, giving him six picks and zero touchdown passes in 115 attempts.
Coach Kevin Stefanski said that Winston, who is nursing a shoulder injury, likely would be the emergency quarterback behind Thompson-Robinson or Bailey Zappe, formerly of the Patriots. If Zappe starts, he would be the 40th different starter since the Browns were reborn before the 1999 season.
“There’s potential to play both guys,” Stefanski said of Thompson-Robinson and Zappe.
If Cleveland is to pull off a mammoth upset, it likely would require more production from an offense that ranks last in the NFL with an average of 15.5 points per game. Browns quarterbacks have tossed 21 interceptions, tied with the Tennessee Titans for the highest total in the league.
The Browns had six players six out practice on Wednesday: defensive end Myles Garrett (thigh), running backs Jerome Ford (ankle) and Pierre Strong (concussion), linebacker Jordan Hicks (concussion), tight end David Njoku (knee) and cornerback Denzel Ward (shoulder).
Running back Justice Hill (concussion/illness) and tackle Patrick Mekari (illness) were the Ravens’ lone absentees on Wednesday.
Despite the Browns’ win back in October, Baltimore has dominated the series with a 36-15 advantage.
–Field Level Media
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