Mapping a out a blueprint to success in this AFC North showdown.
The Baltimore Ravens will close out the regular season at home with a divisional matchup with the Cleveland Browns in the first double-header game on Saturday to kick off Week 18. They are favored to prevail by 20 points as they are going up against a team on its fourth different quarterback with one of the worst records in the league at 3-13.
A win would not only improve the Ravens’ record to 12-5 and avenge a stunning Week 8 upset loss but also clinch a second straight AFC North crown for the first time since the 2018 and 2019 seasons in Lamar Jackson’s first two years in the league.
Here are five keys integral to the Ravens’ coming out on top in Week 18.
Start fast and don’t look back
On Thursday, it was announced that while the Browns would be starting their fourth different quarterback against the Ravens on Saturday both third-year pro Bailey Zappe and second-year pro Dorian Thompson Robinson could see some playing time as well with veteran Jameis Winston serving as the emergency backup. No matter who is under center for Cleveland, their offense has been the worst in the league over the last month, reaching double-digit points just once in their last four games which came in a 27-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In Winston’s first game at the helm, the Browns were able to torch a Ravens pass defense that had not yet turned a corner for three touchdowns and over 330 yards through the air in a 29-24 upset 10 weeks ago. The likelihood of anything close to a repeat performance on either side is very low given the tremendous strides that Baltimore has made in that area defensively and the horrendous regression Cleveland has had offensively.
Jumping out to a swift double-digit lead early will not only be key to securing the division crown but by doing so early in the game against an opponent that can’t go blow for blow with their high-octane offense, the Ravens would be able to pull key starters from the game on both sides of the ball sooner, perhaps before the fourth quarter even gets underway. They are fortunate to be one of the healthiest teams at this time of the season and to ensure they can preserve their best players for a potentially deep playoff run, taking care of business sooner rather than later on Saturday would be ideal.
Don’t Myles Garrett wreak havoc
With no clear-cut frontrunner to win Defensive Player of the Year, the reigning recipient will be out to not only play spoiler but pat his stats enough in his final game to warrant consideration to be the first to receive the honor for a second year in a row since future Hall of Fame defensive tackle did it 2017 and 2018. Garrett is currently tied with fellow multi-time Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals for the league lead in sacks with 14 and will be determined to break the stalemate and claim the Deacon Jones award for the most sacks outright and not risk having to split the honor.
The Ravens have one of the best pass-protecting offensive lines in the league having allowed the third-fewest sacks (24) and held Garrett to just one assisted tackle, one quarterback hit and no sacks on 55 defensive snaps in the first meeting between these two teams this season. Fresh off of being snubbed from being voted to his second career Pro Bowl, Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley will be looking to repeat the impressive feat on Saturday.
Keep Jerry Jeudy generating big plays
With Pro Bowl tight end David Njoku ruled out for this game along with starting running back Jerome Ford, the Brown offense will most certainly have to flow through the veteran wideout who was just named to his first career Pro Bowl this week after having the best season of his career to date. The first meeting between these two teams marked the beginning of Jeudy’s breakout campaign as the former first-rounder went on a seven-game heater of at least five receptions and over 60 receiving yards including explosive outings of 142, 235 and 108 receiving yards.
Since Cleveland’s offense will likely be one-dimensional leaning heavier toward the pass, preventing Jeudy from picking up chunks of yardage after the catch and getting open with crisp route running will be a top priority for Baltimore’s stingy secondary. Thankfully, they excel at open-field tackling and are communicating much better since making some personnel and schematic changes at safety.
Continue avoiding self-inflicted wounds
The Ravens’ toughest opponent this season that has been at the root cause of all five of their losses was themselves. Whether it was penalties, turnovers or a combination of both, when they’ve come up short, the main culprit has been their own inability to stop shooting themselves in the foot. Since returning from their late Week 14 bye, they’ve only turned the ball over twice while forcing four of their own on defense, and over the past two games, they’ve only been penalized five times for a combined 40 yards after getting flagged a season-high 12 times for 112 yards in Week 15 alone in their first game back.
In a matter of weeks, they’ve gone from the most penalized teams in the league to one of the most disciplined. To ensure they don’t gift-wrap the out-gunned and undermanned Browns any advantageous field position off turnovers of extend potential scoring drives with penalties, continuing to avoid being their own worst enemy will help the Ravens secure the AFC North title and head into the postseason as one of the hottest and most dangerous teams in the NFL.
Take advantage of turnover opportunities
When these two teams first met this season, the Ravens let several chances to thwart scoring drives by the Browns including what ended up being the game-winner slip through their fingers on dropped interceptions. The most brutal was the last one because two-time Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton had the ball thrown right to him and he had several chances to corral the errant pass for what would’ve been a game-sealing turnover but after he dropped it, former Ravens safety Eddie Jackson got beat over the top for a go-ahead touchdown.
Whether Zappe or Thompson-Robinson is in the game, there will be plenty of opportunities to take the ball away against the two relatively inexperienced young signal callers who have just 17 combined career starts between them with a record of 5-12. The Ravens revitalized secondary has allowed an average of just 171.1 passing yards per game since Week 11 and their relentless pass rush has recorded multiple sacks in every game this season. As long as they make plays on the balls that come their way in coverage and take advantage of their mismatches in the trenches both on the edge and up the middle, there is no reason they shouldn’t finish this game with multiple turnovers including interceptions, strip sacks and forced fumbles on big hits and punch outs.
“We still have a sour taste in our mouth from that game, and [we] had a lot of opportunities to win that one and obviously didn’t come out with a win,” Hamilton said. “I think we’re going to play with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder and really prove ourselves right – more than anything – that we’re going to go out and … It doesn’t matter the implications [or] whatever; we need to go out and play a good football game, and if we do, then we’ll be AFC [North] champs.”