Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland Browns week 1 Ebony Bird round table

Michael Natelli:

The story of this game will be opportunities for the Ravens offense due to Browns defenders missing week one with injuries. Linebacker Mack Wilson, as well as defensive backs Greedy Williams, Grant Delpit, and Kevin Johnson, will all be out for the season opener (with Delpit of course out for the season), which leaves Cleveland in the unenviable task of facing one of the most potent offenses in the NFL shorthanded.

With Williams, Johnson, and Delpit all out, might the Ravens throw the ball more than usual to test the depleted Cleveland secondary? Marquise Brown vs. Denzel Ward will be one of the matchups to watch, but receivers like Miles Boykin, Willie Snead, and even Devin Duvernay all stand to get opportunities against bench-caliber corners, and I like Boykin to have one of the breakout performances of Week 1. The lack of depth will likely force Cleveland to rely more heavily on zone looks, which will free up Mark Andrews to find space in the open field, and Lamar Jackson should be poised to have one of the better passing performances of his young career if the offensive line does its job against Myles Garrett and company.

Another injury situation to monitor is the status of Browns center J.C. Tretter. Tretter was listed as questionable on the injury report this week, after being limited in practice as he comes back from offseason knee surgery. If Tretter can’t go, rookie Nick Harris will make the start, and Calais Campbell could get some heavy snaps inside to make hay in his Ravens debut. Harris would be lining up next to right guard Wyatt Teller, who has just 16 starts and 23 total NFL appearances to his name, and newly-signed right tackle Jack Conklin, who has fared far better in run blocking than pass protection thus far in his career. Luckily for Baker Mayfield, Jedrick Wills and Joel Bitonio are lining up on his blindside, because he could stand to face some serious pressure from the right side of the pocket regardless of whether Tretter can play.

But even for all their injury warts, this is still a Browns team with a pair of star receivers and arguably the league’s best one-two punch in the backfield, so they shouldn’t go quietly. As is often the case, this one will be decided in the trenches, as both offensive lines look to keep their quarterbacks upright against talented pass rushes and pave the way for their respective dynamic rushing attacks.

Bold Predictions: Miles Boykin clears the century mark in receiving yards for the first time in his career, J.K. Dobbins finds paydirt in his first NFL game

Score Prediction: Ravens 34 Browns 24