The Baltimore Ravens own one of the NFL's best records at 4-1. However, while they’re coming off one of their more encouraging wins, things haven’t been all sunshine and rainbows. There’s plenty to be dissatisfied about as they enter Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns.
And despite sitting atop the AFC North, the Ravens are only one game ahead of the 3-2 Browns. A loss on Sunday would shift the landscape of the division back in Cleveland’s favor — they’d hold a critical early tiebreaker.
Luckily, the Browns have several weaknesses. Road divisional matchups can get dicey no matter the opponent, so the Ravens have to exploit these three flaws.
3 Browns weaknesses the Baltimore Ravens must take advantage of
Lackluster passing attack should have Ravens’ secondary licking its chops
Baltimore’s secondary has left a lot to be desired in 2026. With names like Kyle Hamilton, Malaki Starks, Nate Wiggins, and Marlon Humphrey holding it down, there was hype that Jesse Minter would have them locking everyone down.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case. Their pass defense is an underwhelming 18th in yards allowed per game. But if you ask anyone in the building, they’re capable of so much more.
Well, Week 6 is your chance to have your best game of the year.
Despite holding a winning record, the Browns offense hasn’t looked great. They rank 29th in total yards, and more notably, their passing attack has been extremely lackluster. Their 179.4 passing yards per game sits 26th in the NFL.
You could also label Cleveland’s WR room as a one-man wrecking crew. Denzel Boston is awesome, racking up 16 receptions, 330 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 20.6 yards per catch through five weeks. That 20.6 mark leads receivers. Others like KC Concepcion and Jerry Jeudy, though, haven’t stuffed the stat sheet.
If you shut Boston down, Deshaun Watson should have trouble finding success through the air.
Browns’ offensive line has little experience playing together
Cleveland’s offensive line has countless leaks to patch. They lead the league in sacks allowed in 2026 with 19. In Week 5, they allowed 8. Yeah, one single game, 8 sacks.
Many of those problems come down to an almost completely new offensive line. Teven Jenkins is the only returning member of the front.
Spencer Fano is a first-round rookie, Elgton Jenkins and Zion Johnson were signed this offseason, and Tytus Howard was acquired from the Houston Texans in March.
That group hasn’t played more than five games together. It’s clearly affected their communication and chemistry up front. That’s something the Ravens should expose.
Baltimore has a gifted defensive front, too. Nnamdi Madubuike, Travis Jones, and Calais Campbell can be game-wreckers, Mike Green is coming into his own in 2026, and Trey Hendrickson is among the league’s best sack artists.
Those guys haven't put together a complete game yet this season, but Sunday feels as good a time as any to do that. Everything points to them finally having their big game.
Banged-up RB room could give Ravens’ defense some breathing room
Possibly the most disappointing part about Cleveland's offense is their running game. They’ve run for 94.2 yards per game in 2026, which is severely underwhelming. But while Quinshon Judkins is off to a disappointing start in Year 2, he remains a talented, up-and-coming running back.
Judkins might not play, though. He missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday with an ankle injury. That means things are trending toward Jaleel McLaughlin taking the bulk of the workload.
McLaughlin is a good player. He brings explosiveness, shiftiness, and pass-catching ability. He’s averaged 4.9 yards per carry on 228 carries in his career — that’s pretty solid.
However, McLaughlin isn’t a lead bellcow. His career-high for carries in a game is 16, and he’s only reached double digits four times. The 26-year-old will likely make it five on Sunday.
Can he hold his own against the Ravens’ run defense? He’ll certainly have his work cut out for him. They rank 12th in rushing yards allowed, and the trio of Madubuike, Jones, and Campbell will bear down on him all day. Heck, even run-stopper extraordinaire John Jenkins could make an impact.
If Cleveland can’t get their run game going, stopping the Browns becomes all the easier. Baltimore may quickly make them one-dimensional.
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