5 takeaways the Ravens 33-31 loss to the Browns

In a head-scratching turn of events and sloppy play from all three phases of Baltimore’s team, the Ravens lost 33-31 to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Baltimore led until the end of the game with Hopkins nailing a 40-yard field goal to gingerly put the city out of its collective misery. The Ravens defense allowed 178 yards on the ground, giving up 4.9 yards per rush and was staggered due to spotty play from the offense. Lamar Jackson went 13-for-23 on passes for 223 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Two of his interceptions led to points for the Browns. 

Cleveland trailed 31-17 with 11:34 left in the game. Following a Deshaun Wason touchdown pass to Elijah Moore to cut Baltimore’s lead to seven, the Ravens continued to pass the ball – leading to one of Jackson’s interceptions. The Ravens finished with 106 rushing yards on the day, 54.7 less yards than the team averaged heading into Sunday’s contest.

Here are five takeaways from Baltimore’s 33-31 loss to the Browns.

AFC North football is a bloodbath

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh spoke to media members in Owings Mills on Monday, discussing the strength of the AFC North. Heading into Sunday’s game against the Browns, the division had three teams with a 5-3 record and Baltimore led the division with a 7-2 record, the second best in the league after the 8-1 Philadelphia Eagles. 

“We respect these teams,” Harbaugh said per Baltimore’s transcripts. “This is a great division. There’s no doubt it’s the best division, it’s proven. We know the teams; these teams are real. When you’re in this division, you have to play them twice a year, you understand them, it’s not just this year, so we understand that. They all understand it, and everybody knows what’s going to happen when we all play each other.”

Baltimore’s matchup with Cleveland didn’t disappoint. The Browns seemed like they were down and out in the first quarter, trailing 14-0. While the team couldn’t score a touchdown in the first half, the Browns began to march back by entering the fourth quarter trailing 24-17 and a chance to tie the game.

The Browns stalled out Baltimore’s offense heading into the fourth quarter. A familiar face sat back as the punt return man for the Browns – it was former Ravens wide receiver James Proche. As Jordan Stout punted the ball, Proche dropped it and Baltimore recovered on Cleveland’s 12-yard line. After multiple penalties on both teams, Gus Edwards finished off the drive with his eighth rushing touchdown of the season and a 31-17 Ravens lead. 

It didn’t take the Browns three minutes to muster a 6-play, 75-yard drive, capped off with Watson hitting Moore for a 10-yard touchdown pass. Watson went 4-for-4 with 58 passing yards on the drive alone. On the ensuing drive, Ogbo Okoronkwo jumped up to swat Jackson’s pass, with Greg Newsome intercepting the ball off of the rebound and returning it 34 yards for a touchdown. Unfortunately for the Browns, Hopkins missed the extra point to trail 31-30 with 8:24 remaining in the game, but the Browns finished Baltimore off with a 40-yard field goal from Hopkins – redeeming himself.

Baltimore-Cleveland lived up to the hype, plus more. It was ugly. It was disgusting. It was AFC North football. 

Ravens are a tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Baltimore was outscored 24-14 in the second half after holding the Browns to nine points in the first. The numbers at the end of the game were unquestionably bad for the Ravens – seven penalties for 64 yards. Jackson had two interceptions that put the defense in a bad predicament. The team lost the time of possession battle at 34:12 to 25:45. Baltimore went 2-for-8 on the third down and had 17 first downs to Cleveland’s 24.

Lamar Jackson has to play better and he can… and he will

Winning starts with decent to good quarterback play – neither of which the dynamic and talented Jackson displayed on Sunday. Jackson often ran for his life behind an offensive line that missed the talents of right tackle Morgan Moses (shoulder) and later in the game, left tackle Ronnie Stanley. With the two injuries, Jackson ran into a few sacks from attempting to make something big happen instead of taking what the defense gave him. He finished with two interceptions, one of which was a pick-6 for Newsome.

It’s clear that Jackson can play better because he was making all of the correct reads against the Seahawks just a week prior. He carved up the Lions like a Thanksgiving turkey. He managed the game well enough for a victory over the Cardinals. He’s the 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player. It wouldn’t be a shock if this is one of the worst games of his career because he’s capable of much, much more.

Injuries mount for Baltimore’s offensive line

Moses and Stanley were needed in a game that featured Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith with the opposition. The Ravens were without their bookends on the offensive line near the end of the game with Stanley going down with a leg injury. Faalele moved to Stanley’s spot and the Browns went to work. Patrick Mekari had his hands full at right tackle as well. 

Baltimore has dealt with injuries throughout the years along the offensive line, but it couldn’t come at a more harsh point in the season with the Cincinnati Bengals coming on Thursday night and the hardest remaining schedule in the league. The Ravens need all of the health luck that it can receive going forward.

The Ravens continue to start fast and end slow

Baltimore jumped on the board quickly with two quick touchdowns on Sunday. The first was an 18-yard interception return by Kyle Hamilton on a Watson pass that was intended for  David Njoku. Hamilton swiftly swatted the ball into the air, snagged the ball midair and trotted into the endzone. The Ravens raced down the field on a 5-play, 74-yard drive that lasted 2:38 with a 39-yard rushing touchdown by Keaton Mitchell with 10:22 left on the clock in the first quarter. Cleveland followed with a field goal and Baltimore answered with one for a 17-3 lead.

A 14-point lead should’ve given the Ravens ample time to put the Browns to bed. Baltimore left points on the board in the second quarter with the team’s two drives resulting in a blocked field goal and an interception thrown by Lamar Jackson. Cleveland had three drives in the second quarter – two ending with a field goal by Dustin Hopkins and the third ended with a fourth down hail mary pass from PJ Walker that was broken up by Baltimore’s secondary. 

Luckily for Baltimore’s offense, the defense held the lead to 17-9 at halftime and a renewed sense of urgency entering the third quarter. Beckham Jr. even had his 40-yard touchdown reception for the team to lead 24-9 with 12:29 left in the third quarter. 

It still wasn’t enough to win.