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Cleveland Browns, chaotic AFC North all tied up in knots

By Elliot Kennel

Sep 19, 2021; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) flips into the end zone for a fourth quarter touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 19, 2021; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) flips into the end zone for a fourth quarter touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Browns
Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

How did the Ravens beat the AFC Champion Chiefs?

The Ravens are down to their fourth-string running back, having IR’d three running backs already. They have lost an All-Pro offensive lineman, All-Pro cornerback, a first-round draft pick wide receiver, a starting tight end, and a starting guard. They also lost two Pro Bowlers to free agency and traded away one for good measure.

So, versus the Kanas City Chiefs on Sunday, Lamar Jackson (that’s the guy that the Ravens want to convert to a pocket passer, remember) started off by throwing a pick-six to the Honey Badger, Tyrann Mathieu. Somehow, Jackson managed to put together an offense and the Ravens pounded the Chiefs to death, outgaining them on the ground 251 yards to 62, behind Jackson (107 yards) and fourth-string tailback Ty’Son Williams with 77additional yards.

Well, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens beat that team with a patchwork lineup. No insult intended to Baltimore, but their team was missing at least half a dozen key players, especially on offense. Plus, Lamar turned the ball over in key situations, and they still rang up 36 points on the Chiefs. What would have happened if the Ravens had been healthy and had brought their A-game?

Let’s forget about the fact that as Browns fans we hate the Ravens. The fact of the matter is that the wounded Birds did not play that well on offense, and still took the Chiefs behind the tool shed and whipped their behinds. They pounded Kansas City on the ground with backup offensive linemen and linemen playing out of position.

The Browns have consoled themselves concerning their opening game loss, figuring it came against those same Chiefs, the consensus favorite to return to the Super Bowl. So we sort of forgive our team for losing to this power-packed team. Well, the Chiefs were exposed on Sunday. They are simply not that good.

The truth is, the Chiefs have been just squeaking by since the last half of the season, winning games but losing versus the spread. Maybe neither they nor the Ravens are really as good as everybody seems to think. Maybe the Chiefs were just good enough to beat Cleveland, and they got worse against the Ravens.

One stupid question I have is, how much does Alejandro Villanueva weigh? The Ravens’ website lists him as one of the lightest tackles in the game at 277 pounds, while PFF lists him as a robust 320 pounds. PFF graded his performance as one of the worst in the NFL at right tackle in game one and now he is one of the best left tackles in the game in Week 2.

I admit that as a group we writers are often idiots, but if the team cannot estimate the weight of a player closer than 43 pounds, it’s not totally our fault.

Over in Chicago, the Bears hate Andy Dalton as much as the Jungle hated him, but he brought the home team a win, and was clearly better than rookie backup and new Messiah, Justin Fields.

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