With the Baltimore Ravens getting ready to enter division play, no game will be more important than the teams first game vs. the Cleveland Browns.
The Baltimore Ravens are slated to have three straight AFC North games, two of which will be at home. The first of these games will be in Charm City this Sunday vs. the Cleveland Browns, and it will be the most important game for Baltimore so far this season.
The Browns have been far from impressive in 2019. The team has limped to a 1-2 record, with their sole victory coming against a beat-up New York Jets squad on their third-string quarterback. Other than that, Cleveland has struggled all season to utilize the immense talent they possess.
However, there in lies the problem… The Cleveland Browns possess perhaps the NFL’s most talented roster in terms of young stars such as Odell Beckham Jr., Nick Chubb, and even Baker Mayfield. Mayfield has been, well, bad thus far in 2019, with three touchdowns to five interceptions on the year and completing under 57.0% of his passes. The defense has been more than good enough, with Myles Garrett‘s six sacks leading the AFC.
When they come to Baltimore, Maryland, there will only be one thing on their mind: revenge.
In week 17 of the 2018 season, the Ravens took down the Browns 26-24 on a late interception by former-Raven C.J. Mosley. The win launched Baltimore into the playoffs and kept Cleveland from their first season over the .500 mark since 2007. There’s little doubt that this game hasn’t been circled on their calendars since the end of last year.
Now, in addition to revenge the Browns also want validation and to prove themselves worthy of the off-season hype they were given by analysts and fans. It will be a very determined unit; one that the Ravens cannot overlook so easily.
Despite a 1-2 record, Baltimore must treat Cleveland like a 3-0 squad worthy of claiming the AFC North crown. Without this mentality, the Browns could come into Baltimore and snipe a win away from a Ravens team looking to rebound from a heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs; a loss the team isn’t forgetting any time soon.
Baltimore will have a chip on their shoulder, as well because of the loss, but more so because of the lack of respect given to them this off-season. The questions about Lamar Jackson and co. were so overwhelming to the team’s off-season that they were forgotten about as the defending AFC North champs. All that attention went to the Cleveland Browns, and there’s little doubt the Ravens haven’t also circled this game on their calendars… It simply will be one of the most pivotal games of the young 2019 season for both teams.
So, while the Baltimore Ravens are likely looking forward to this match-up and to move on from their first loss of the 2019 season, they must bring their A-game vs. the Cleveland Browns. The Browns will have a lot on their hearts coming to Charm City, and the Ravens must be ready to counter their determination with their own. This will be a hard-fought battle that Baltimore can ill afford to lose and may determine the fate of the AFC North.