Take-home points from Ravens 38-6 drubbing of Browns in opener

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens defense help lead way over mistake-prone Cleveland Browns to start the 2020 season. Here are some take-home points.

Continuing what has been a mini-tradition of sorts, John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens opened the season with a convincing, attention-grabbing win, this time over division rival Cleveland, with a 38-6 victory at home.

There was a lot to take in from the game, including the strange sensation of watching an opposing offense line up on a third-and-short without a deafening roar from the M&T crowd. We’ll break it down more over the next few days, but let’s just start with a quick look at some take-home points.

• Lamar Jackson was 20-25 for 275 yards and three touchdowns while running for another 45 yards, before giving way to Robert Griffin III to finish things up. That Browns defensive line is borderline elite, and the Ravens front seemed overwhelmed at times. But Jackson either calmly rolled out or maneuvered ably in the pocket to go through his reads and hit his receivers. The deep pass to Marquise Brown was an absolute thing of beauty, as were touchdown passes to Mark Andrews and Willie Snead. Great game, MVP.

• Andrews had a ridiculous one-hander to haul in Jackson’s first touchdown pass of the game. The throw was far too high for as easy as it was, but we saw how Andrews has more hop this season without a troubling ankle. He’s the real deal.

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• Brown, by the way, looked as good as advertised. He was quick, electric, and showed again how good he is at tracking the deep ball. I also thought Miles Boykin looked much more decisive after catching the ball, showing confidence and aggression heading upfield. Willie Snead did a nice job finding space, and I’m sure he blocked well — he always does, and I look forward to watching that on tape later. Rookie Devin Duvernay showed his speed on a short pass-and-run and some kick returns, and James Proche looked good returning punts, excluding a questionable decision to let one roll inside the two-yard line. This young corps could be the answer the Ravens, and their fans, have been looking for. Stay tuned.

• Say a prayer for Ronnie Stanley not having a serious injury. He is critical to what this team does.

• I’ll see more on review, but the line got beat up a bit by that Browns front, from what I could tell. They will do that to a bunch of teams, I’m guessing, but it’s worth watching.

• The Ravens defensive front, led by Calais Campbell, Derek Wolfe, and Brandon Williams, looked very good and tackled well. The Browns had some success hitting the edges, but I put two of those long runs on Chuck Clark taking bad angles, and another on rookie Malik Harrison. I’m confident they will be a good unit. This is another one to look at Cleveland’s side of things — they have a great run game of their own.

• The Ravens corners are terrific and played very well today. Baker Mayfield seemed to have all day to throw for much of the game but had a hard time finding anybody open. Clark and DeShon Elliott did a nice job in coverage, as well.

• I was getting a little nervous in the second quarter when the Browns, down only 10-6, moved the ball downfield and, after a penalty on Matthew Judon, had first-and-10 at the Ravens 29. Then the Browns had a false start. Then Odell Beckham Jr. got called for a facemask. Then Clark dropped an easy interception on a deflection from Harrison. Then rookie Patrick Queen got a sack of Mayfield. Then the Browns had a delay of game penalty. Finally, on fourth-and-41, they punted it down to the Ravens 1-yard-line. They then gave up a 99-yard scoring drive. That was just… so… Cleveland.

• Tyus Bowser was very active today, and Jaylon Ferguson flashed a couple times. Judon was pretty quiet without watching the film yet, but I’m guessing he got a lot of attention. If Bowser and Ferguson can continue to do that, it could open things up for Judon later.

• For Cleveland, I thought David Njoku looked good and made some tough catches. Also, Myles Garrett and Larry Ogunjobi were standouts, as were backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. The Browns have a ton of talent, and the Ravens did a nice job on most of them.

• L.J. Fort impresses me every time I watch him play. I think it’s time I raise my expectations for him.

• I still think the Ravens could use another option at tight end, or they need to use Duvernay more. Things can get congested in the middle of the field and they need inside options who can move people out of there.

• 38-6. That’s awesome. But it’s still one win. Houston is next.