In a sloppy, grungy, mistake-filled Saturday night affair, the Cleveland Browns defeated the division rival Baltimore Ravens, 13-3.
Cleveland was gifted numerous opportunities to take and extend its lead thanks to errors on the part of Baltimore, and mostly did not take advantage of them. Had the Ravens been able to capitalize on their own chances with any degree of consistency, they likely would have won. Alas, that's not how things went down.
The Browns averaged south of 5 yards per play and actually lost the battle in total yardage, but they were able to convert one of their red-zone opportunities into a touchdown, and the Ravens were not. That was basically the difference in the game.
Nick Chubb was largely held in check with the exception of one decent-sized run (18 yards in the second quarter) for most of the game. Deshaun Watson was neither efficient (5.8 yards per attempt), nor explosive (Cleveland had one pass play gain more than 15 yards). The Browns could not stop the run to save their lives, as Baltimore averaged over 7 yards per carry. And the Browns made mistakes of their own, with Cade York missing two field goals, Watson taking three sacks (including one that led to a missed field goal), and the team finishing the evening just 5 of 14 on third down.
But the Ravens just continually came up short in scoring position, turning the ball over twice inside the red zone and once in the field of play, and missing two field goals. In the end, that was too much for them to overcome, and the Browns came away with the victory.
Here are a few more things to know about this game.
Mostly because the Ravens repeatedly shot themselves in the foot, honestly. It's not like the Browns did that much offensively, and they let the Ravens get into scoring position multiple times, only for Baltimore to come away scoreless.
They had far too many missed opportunities. On their first drive of the game, the Ravens went 71 yards on 10 plays, but came away with 0 points after Patrick Ricard was stopped on a fourth-and-1 attempt. On their final drive of the first half, the Ravens moved into field goal range, but Justin Tucker shockingly missed a 48-yard attempt. On their opening drive of the second half, Baltimore again found itself in the red zone, only for Tyler Huntley to throw a pick. And after the Browns opened a double-digit lead, Demarcus Robinson fumbled on the first play of the ensuing drive. Oh, and Tucker later had a 50-yard field goal attempt blocked. And they couldn't convert a fourth-and-5 near midfield. And, and, and, etc.
The Ravens had a chance to tie the game midway through the third quarter, but Denzel Ward took it away from them. Facing third-and-10 from the 13-yard line, Baltimore lined up with trips to the right and tried to sneak DeSean Jackson underneath for a slant route. Ward had other ideas.
This was poor execution all around from the Ravens, with Devin Duvernay failing to get in Ward's way and knock him off a path to the ball, Jackson failing to use his body to shield the ball from the defender, and Huntley throwing the ball ahead of Jackson and into the coverage, rather than pinning it on his back shoulder. But it was also a terrific play from Ward, who read the route the whole way and ran right through his man and into the passing lane for the pick.
Cleveland would drive down the field for its first touchdown of the game, extending its lead to double digits. The Ravens would never get closer.
With not all that much scoring, there weren't that many big, highlight-worthy plays. So, let's just go with David Njoku hurdling a guy. You know, as he does.
Njoku is an outrageous athlete in the midst of a breakout season. He finished this game with 3 catches for 28 yards, giving him 51 and 551, along with three touchdowns, on the season in his 11 games played. He's nearing career highs in every category, and should surpass those marks soon.
The Ravens drop to 9-5 and cede control of first place in the AFC North to the Cincinnati Bengals. Baltimore hosts the Atlanta Falcons for an early-afternoon game next Saturday. The Browns improve to 6-8 and are still on the periphery of the AFC playoff race. They play host the New Orleans Saints for an early-afternoon game next Saturday.
The Ravens drop to 9-5 and cede control of first place in the AFC North to the Bengals. Baltimore hosts the Atlanta Falcons for an early-afternoon game next Saturday. The Browns improve to 6-8 and are still on the periphery of the AFC playoff race. They play host the New Orleans Saints for an early-afternoon game next Saturday.
That'll likely do it, folks. Browns can kneel on the ball after the two-minute warning.
Proche was open for a split second, but Huntley needed to rifle the ball in there and it just hung in the air for too long, so Ward was able to come over and break up the play.
Watson Huntley just cannot hold onto the ball for that long. At least throw it away.
I mea, what are we doing here, folks?
Watson just cannot hold onto the ball for that long. At least throw it away.
This is a war of attrition. Or a battle of near-incompetence. One of the two.
Huntley had Proche open on fourth-and-5 and made a decent throw, but it was a bit too far wide and Proche couldn't haul it in and keep control as he went to the ground.
And then the drive stalls out, again.
Quick game finally getting something going for the Ravens. A few medium gains in a row.
You miss a field goal! And you miss a field goal!
Oh, no. Calais Campbell down on the ground for the Ravens after that last play. Big man in his 15th NFL season out of the best school in the country. (Full disclosure: We went to school together.)
Watson hit the top of his drop and IMMEDIATELY took off to run. Saw the Ravens were in man coverage and just ran right through the middle of the line.
Looks like the last time was in 2018 against the Chargers.
Wow. When was the last time Tucker missed two field goals in the same game?!?
Huntley-to-Andrews connection has been a little bit off line all night. Just missed on the crosser on third down.
Pre-injury Dobbins probably takes that to the house, but several defenders caught up to him in the open field so it's merely a 35-yard-run instead.
Huge stop from Baltimore's defense. Browns had a chance to really blow the game open, but the Ravens shut it down.
Last three Ravens possessions: Missed FG, INT, Fumble. Browns have a chance to blow it open now.
Oh boy. Things go from bad to worse for the Ravens.
That's a great cut by DPJ to get back inside both defenders flowing to the outside on what looked like a flat route. He cut it back and had a ton of room to walk into the end zone.
Fantastic coverage by Marlon Humphrey on the fade to Cooper. Right in his hip pocket the whole way, got his hand to the ball before Cooper could even put his hands up.
Bad decision-making from Watson there. Should have either flipped to ball to Njoku on the way across or run it up the middle.
Much easier throw right there, but Amari Cooper was wide the heck open over the middle of the field. No defender within 10 yards of him when he caught it.
That's a really difficult throw to make. Far hash, all the way across the field, about 20 yards down. Sheesh.
Duvernay has to get in Ward's way on the slant. Jackson has to use his body to shield the ball. And Huntley has to put the ball on Jackson's back shoulder, instead of the front, where the defender is coming from.
