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Have the Cleveland Browns closed the gap with the Baltimore Ravens?

By Elliot Kennel

Nov 15, 2020; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots running back Rex Burkhead (34) makes the catch for a touchdown against Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker Patrick Queen (48) during the second quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 15, 2020; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots running back Rex Burkhead (34) makes the catch for a touchdown against Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker Patrick Queen (48) during the second quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Browns
Dec 14, 2020; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Rashard Higgins (82) runs with the ball against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cleveland Browns have improved their team for 2021, but the Ravens were really good last year and are not going away. 

Yes the Cleveland Browns have improved, but let us not forget that the Browns are in the same division with the Cincinnati Burrows (they should rename the team after their quarterback, assuming he survives); the faltering but still offensively potent Pittsburgh Steelers: and the omnipresent and hated Baltimore Ravens.

For reasons that will be developed in future articles, this writer believes that once again three teams will finish over .500 in the AFC North and will make the playoffs, but the Browns greatest competition this season comes from the Ravens, who were better than the Browns last season. Have the Browns done enough to achieve close the gap?

Much though it pains a Browns fan to admit it, the Ravens have been the best team in the division in recent years. Coach John Harbaugh is not to be confused with his little brother, That Coach From Up North. Coach John is one of the best in the business. So was Ozzie Newsome, the general manager until 2019. Eric DeCosta has been less impressive thus far.

Nevertheless, the Ravens were 12-6 last season, including one playoff win last season, the same as the Browns. But if you really want to break down the team, you should look at point differential, and from that standpoint they were among the class of the NFL, outscoring their opponents by 165 points in the regular season, 468 points for, to 303 points against; or if playoffs are included, 491 points for, and 333 points against.

Their Pythagorean win percentage (win percentage that the statisticians believe should ultimately result based on the rate of points scored and points given up) is calculated as

PWINPCT = (PF^2.37)/[(PF)^2.37+(PA)^2.37] ,

or 73.7% during regular season, and 71.5% when playoffs are included.

As for your Browns, they were slightly outscored, 473 points for and 478 points against, including the playoff games; 408 points for and 419 points against for the regular season only. The Browns were improving as the season went on.

They were slaughtered by Pittsburgh and Baltimore early on, but by the end of the year, they clobbered the Steelers and were close to the Ravens also. Their Pythagorean trendline starts at 44.7% at the beginning of the season and trended to 56.4% by the end of the season.

In a previous article, this fan argued that the Browns added significant free agents on defense. Therefore, they have improved, though not necessarily at the level of the 1985 Chicago Bears.

What about the Ravens?

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