Monday Night Football: Ravens vs Browns

The Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns face off in a battle on Monday Night Football

It’s Monday Night Football and well.. we’ve got ourselves a rivalry game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns. Last year both of these teams were in playoff contention at this point in the year but find themselves riding the pine in 2015. Whether wins matter more than the draft selection is a question of debate, either way we have football tonight.

Nov 15, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cleveland Browns free safety Jordan Poyer (33) returns an interception against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 30-9. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Browns

Oh Cleveland.. The past week has been anything but progressive for the Browns but then again, when is it ever? I suppose you could look at last year during this week when the team was 7-4 and were hoping to make their first playoff bid since 2002. Everything about this team is horrendous unless your last name is McCown, Barnidge or Benjamin, who in fact are putting up better numbers than any player at their position last year. Is it a coaching fault? Well yes, it’s never not when you’re 2-8 but there’s also the factor of injuries, youth and distractions.

Johnny Manziel made headlines (surprise, surprise) and finds himself on the bench for McCown. He is active tonight so it’s curious to see what will happen with him in-game, but his behavior has been another sore spot for a team that can’t catch a break. All three of Cleveland’s Pro Bowlers in the secondary have struggled with injuries this season. Whitner returns tonight, but Haden is out again with a concussion. Tashaun Gipson has missed time as well but has played more than the others yet still remains on the injury report. What a healthy secondary means for Cleveland is eighth overall in passing and the lowest passer rating among QB’s (74.1).

Of course this was in 2014, this year however the Browns are enjoying a luxurious 26th spot in passing and an average 100.7 rating for QBs. Not to mention the awful run defense that’s seemed to get worse than their 32nd overall ranking in 2014. Don’t worry as ugly as Cleveland is Baltimore’s not any prettier.

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Baltimore Ravens

I’ll give this to the Ravens and you have to, their injury bug is much worse than Cleveland’s. Out for the Ravens tonight are Joe Flacco, Justin Forsett, Steve Smith, Eugene Monroe and Kelechi Osemele. That’s not to mention that Terrell Suggs has been out for the season with a torn achilles. It’s safe to say that the Ravens are rolling out their B-squad against the Browns and you know.. just because it’s Cleveland they might even win this game.

Starting for Flacco is former Houston Texans QB Matt Schaub who hasn’t started since December of 2013. At 34 he’s probably on his last team unless he can pull a McCown and show teams that he can still play in this league. Without Forsett, rookie running back Javorius Allen looks to take the reins and could possibly prove himself to be the guy in the coming years. Forsett is a journeyman running back and while he’s had success in Baltimore, he’s also 30 years old and on the decline for the position he plays. Allen has a more than favorable matchup against a team that ranks dead last in rushing.

Thing to Watch

Duke Johnson’s Playing Time

Duke Johnson is without a doubt the best running back in the Cleveland backfield but somebody needs to tell the coach that. In multiple games this year Johnson has made a large impact in the first half only to never be seen again. The mysterious second half removal of such a versatile back has been a head scratcher and a head liner. I expect with McCown behind center that Duke will see some downfield plays and he’ll get his 5 or so carries in the game. I just hope for the Browns sake that they let their best draft pick play all 4 quarters, there’s nothing to lose.

Matt Schaub and the Wide Receivers vs the Secondary

This can go one of two ways, it can either be a shoot out or a complete dud. Nobody knows and nobody can truly say what’s going to happen tonight but I’m willing to bet that this game has a few sparks throughout it. Schaub is a two-time Pro Bowler and at 6’5 he has plenty of height to see the field. The only people who know the receivers for the Ravens are those playing fantasy football and those that live in Baltimore, if you don’t fit into either of those categories you’re sitting in the dark. Kamar Aiken is the main guy but expect the ball to be distributed fairly evenly to those other guys (who?). The Cleveland secondary is without Haden and playing some of their younger guys, at any point it could all start to click for them and they may have an advantage after playing tough games vs Roethlisberger and Dalton. Like I said, we’ll see what happens here.

Nov 22, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker (9) walks off the field after kicking the game winning field goal against the St. Louis Rams at M&T Bank Stadium. Baltimore Ravens defeated St. Louis Rams 16-13. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Kickers

Yup, I’m highlighting the kickers. If the final score isn’t 42-38 it’ll be 9-6. Justin Tucker has hit 22 out of his 28 attempts with one of those misses coming against the Browns earlier this year. It’s not Tuckers best year as he’s only at 79% but if the offense stalls expect Harbaugh to dial-up a few long bombs. Travis Coons has been excellent as a field goal kicker, spectacular, couldn’t ask for better.. well.. unless you’re needing the extra point. 16/16 when it comes to field goals yet 14/16 for extra points. Only a Cleveland kicker would have those stats. Either way if you’re not celebrating a touchdown and cheering Coons is your guy. He hasn’t kicked as often as Tucker but he’s been perfect (for three) until he proves otherwise.

Prediction

I mean, this game could either get re-programmed for Judge Judy or end up being a classic. It’s hard to tell but I’m giving the Browns the benefit of the doubt in this one as they beat the Ravens in overtime before the injuries. If Baltimore does win however, expect Pettine’s hot seat to start singeing his pants a bit. A win looks good in the books but the true winner might be the loser as they get one step closer to that number one draft pick in the spring. Is this the true definition of the toilet bowl? I think so.

Browns win 28-20

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