CLEVELAND (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns have a shared history and the similar address in the AFC North.
Right now, that’s about all they have in common.
The division rivals, currently at extreme opposite ends of the NFL spectrum, meet again Sunday as the Ravens (5-2) try to extend their winning streak to six games while the Browns (1-6) desperately cling to a season slipping away.
If it hasn’t already.
With the possible exception of the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs, there’s no team playing on the same level as the Ravens, who boast the league’s top-ranked offense led by the dynamic duo of Lamar Jackson and his new backfield running mate, Derrick Henry.
“They’re averaging, what, 31 points a game right now and they’re No. 1,” Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah said, reciting some of Baltimore’s stunning offensive statistics “It’s a challenge for us.”
Jackson is having perhaps his best season, and that’s saying something considering he’s a two-time league MVP. He’s got the best passer rating (118.0) and has thrown 15 touchdown passes with just two interceptions.
He has also rushed for 455 yards with two scores and is on pace to become the first player to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in the same season.
Against Tampa Bay on Monday night, Jackson put on a prime-time show, throwing five TD passes and running for 52 yards in a 41-31 win in a game the Ravens had locked up by the end of the third quarter.
There have been five games in league history in which a player has recorded at least five TD passes and rushed for 50 yards — Jackson has three.
“When we say there’s another level, it’s just like, all right, we didn’t know it was another level because he’s been playing on such a high level,” Owusu-Koramoah said of the jump in Jackson’s game. “He’s using his feet. He’s doing miraculous plays, extending plays as all the great quarterbacks do. He’s carrying this offense.”
The Browns are waiting for theirs to arrive.
Already desperate, Cleveland’s problems deepened last week as quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury in a loss to Cincinnati.
Watson wasn’t playing up to expectations, anyway, amid a slew of injuries to the offensive line, dropped passes and penalties, but the Browns had committed themselves to this being a pivotal season for him and the team.
It crashed last week with Watson being carted off the field in tears.
Jameis Winston takes over this week and will make his first start since 2022 with New Orleans. The 2015 No. 1 overall pick is the 38th quarterback to start for the Browns since 1999, and his experience should help settle things down and maybe provide a spark.
It may not be anything like the one Joe Flacco provided last year in leading the Browns to the playoffs, but anything to lighten the current darkness.
“We’re looking for something,” said two-time All-Pro guard Joel Bitonio. “I wish I had an answer.”
Oh Henry!
Henry hit the ground running — and rumbling — in his first season with Baltimore.
The bruising back, who signed a two-year, $16 million deal with the Ravens as a free agent in March after eight seasons in Tennessee, leads the NFL with 873 yards. He’s averaging 6.5 yards per carry and has shown he can still break off a long one, going for 81 yards against the Buccaneers.
Henry’s averaging 124.7 yards through seven games, and is on pace to get 2,120, which would break Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson’s league record of 2,105 yards set in 1984.
The 30-year-old threatened the hallowed mark in 2020, finishing with 2,027 yards.
Jackson thinks his teammate can run past it this year.
“It’s there,” the QB said. “I think he can do it. I believe he can do it.”
Signal change
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski pulled off a pre-practice reverse this week.
With his offense in a prolonged funk and ranked dead last in numerous categories, Stefanski handed off play-calling duties to coordinator Ken Dorsey. The move was surprising given that he had defiantly resisted doing so in the past.
Stefanski explained it was the right time to switch to Dorsey, who called plays in Buffalo before being fired midway through last season.
Stefanski will continue help design the game plan with Dorsey, who’s confident the transition will go smoothly.
Dorsey also knows the change isn’t going to matter if the Browns continue to make mistakes. It’s the players as much as the plays.
“There’s not a magic coach or a magic pill to play better on offense,” he said. “I’m taking that same approach as a coach as every player should be. We want to freaking go out and play fast, physical, accountable football to each other.”
Cool it
One of the most pointed throws by a Browns player last week didn’t come from any of their three quarterbacks.
Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy flung his helmet.
Upset at not being targeted, Jeudy stormed off the field in the third quarter and fired his helmet to the ground in frustration. It was Jeudy’s first game since the Browns traded No. 1 wide receiver Amari Cooper to Buffalo and the lack of attention got to him.
“I want to have that back,” he said. “I got to be better than that.”
Jeudy’s first season in Cleveland hasn’t gone as well as he hoped. The Browns acquired him in a trade from Denver in March. While he has a team-high 266 yards receiving, Jeudy’s stats would likely be better with a few more connections.
Has he been open?
“Y’all got to watch the film,” he told reporters. “The film tells the whole story.”
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
