Cleveland Browns: 3 Stat predictions for Week 1 vs. Ravens
By Cory Kinnan
The Cleveland Browns will look to shock the world in Week 1
It feels like it has been forever, and it has felt like it would never get here, but the NFL is set to kick off with the Super Bowl winning Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans set to go to battle. In their Week 1 matchup, the Cleveland Browns will look to start their new era under head coach Kevin Stefanski with a win over the Baltimore Ravens.
A year ago, the Browns and Ravens split their matchups, as the Ravens went on to win the division while Cleveland fired their head coach in Freddie Kitchens, and parted ways with their general manager John Dorsey. Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson went on to win the Most Valuable Player award, landing on the Madden 21 cover, while Baker Mayfield is out to prove he was not just a flash in the pan after a record-setting rookie season.
Since the end of the 2019 season, the Browns have significantly upgraded their roster, most specifically their struggling offensive line from a year ago. With Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin bookending the offensive line, a massive upgrade from Greg Robinson and Chris Hubbard at offensive tackle a year ago, the Browns will look to keep Mayfield upright and get running back Nick Chubb another 1,000 yard rushing season.
Defensively, the Browns have been hit with the injury bug, not the best news with the reigning MVP in their sights on Sunday. However under new defensive coordinator Joe Woods at the helm, the Browns may look to offset these losses by stacking the field with safeties after adding Ronnie Harrison to team up with Andrew Sendejo and Karl Joseph.
Can the Browns keep tabs on Jackson this Sunday and at least put forth an improved effort from a year ago? We will find out soon. Here, however, we take a look at the matchup, making three statistical predictions for the Browns on Sunday.