Same old Browns versus Ravens? Not according to oddsmakers

Browns are improving, Ravens are already there

This fan is expecting one of the best games of the year between two very evenly matched teams. If you look at the point totals, the Ravens have a much more impressive defense compared to the Browns, but the Browns are getting better week to week. On paper, the Ravens are still the far better team, but of course, the games are not played on paper. The Ravens are trying desperately to hang on to their playoff hopes. It would be fair to say that they have played better than their won-lost record might indicate.

If they manage to get into the playoffs, they have as good of a chance as anyone to win the entire thing because they are still that good, especially on defense. Home field advantage means less than it normally does because crowd noise is less of a factor. Oddsmakers have been hip to that for a while, though this fan took a while to catch on.

Still, the Ravens have lost some strong performers on the offensive line, and they are probably not quite as good as last year’s team for that reason.  The Browns may be able to compete against them.

After last week’s outbreak of Covid-19, somehow as of Wednesday, they only have three players on the list, as key players tight end Mark Andrews and Matthew Judon are back on the active roster. They will be at full strength, after all that soap opera about how many players were on the Covid list and how they could not play on Thanksgiving. It’s indeed funny how Covid seems to strike at just the right time to help out the Harbaugh family, though it must be a coincidence, right?

This game will have very little relationship to what we saw on opening day. The Browns players are now comfortable with the Stefanski offense and they are clearly trending upwards. The Ravens are already a playoff-caliber team if they can find a way to finagle their way into the playoffs. They will not be dead if the Browns beat them, but they probably need to win out if that should happen.