DeShone Kizer facing another tall task against the Ravens

CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 10: Quarterback DeShone Kizer #7 of the Cleveland Browns passes during the first half against the Pittsburgh Steelers at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 10, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 10: Quarterback DeShone Kizer #7 of the Cleveland Browns passes during the first half against the Pittsburgh Steelers at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 10, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer faces another rookie challenge on Sunday when the Browns take on the Baltimore Ravens.

Life comes at you fast in the NFL as rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer is rapidly learning.

A week after making his debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are now 19-3 against rookie quarterbacks since 2004, Kizer and the Browns hit the road on Sunday to face the Baltimore Ravens.

According to Jamison Hensley at ESPN, the Ravens are a tidy 6-0 when facing a rookie quarterback at M&T Bank Stadium since 2008, limiting the quarterbacks to just two touchdown passes while picking off eight and posting a 59.5 passer rating.

Now before Browns fans start looking for alternate viewing options for Sunday afternoon, that perfect record comes with a few caveats.

The first is that three of the games came against Browns quarterbacks Brandon Weeden (2012), Connor Shaw (2014) and Cody Kessler (2016). Another was against Geno Smith and the New York Jets in 2013.

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That less-than-memorable quartet combined to complete just 53.6 percent of their passes, for 715 yards and four interceptions. Not to take anything away from the Baltimore defense, but those numbers are a little less impressive when you see who they were posted against.

The other two quarterbacks are on the list — Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton (2011) and Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz (2016) — but even then the “perfect record” may be one of those stats that sounds good but may not ultimately mean so much.

There is no doubt, though, that the Browns are facing another tough defense in the Ravens, who shut out the Bengals in Week 1 while holding Dalton to just 144 passing yards, picked him off four times and registered five sacks.

Kizer is coming off a debut where he completed 20-of-30 for 222 yards, one touchdown and one interception (that would have been a touchdown if he had thrown it to wide receiver Ricardo Louis instead of Pittsburgh linebacker TJ Watt).

He also took seven sacks, five of which were his fault, and knows that has to change and soon, according to clevelandbrowns.com:

"“I think that the speed is obviously up and the talent is as good as everyone has warned me that it was going to be, but in my position, I think I’m starting to develop and gain some confidence in myself that slows the game down a little bit. That all comes with preparation. That was one game in which I had multiple weeks to prepare for. Now, we have in my mind kind of a shorter time period to prepare for Baltimore, and I need to put myself in the same position that I was in for Pittsburgh: to have that comfort in the pocket to make sure that the confidence is still there.”"

If recent history is any indication, Kizer and the offense may have another rough day in store for them on Sunday in Baltimore.

But the good news is that by facing the Steelers and Ravens in his first two starts, Kizer will have seen a lot defensively, which can only help accelerate his development.

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And in a season that is sure to have a few surprises in store for everyone, Kizer breaking the Ravens’ rookie quarterback streak may be the first one on the list.