Cleveland heads to Baltimore for an AFC North showdown in Week 2, where both teams enter the game off a one-point season-opening loss. Injury reports show both teams are expected to have most of their key contributors, and most outside of Cleveland are expecting an easy win for the Ravens.
Here are three key matchups for the Browns-Ravens Week 2 matchup in Baltimore.
3 key matchups in Browns-Ravens Week 2
Browns run defense vs Lamar Jackson/Derrick Henry
Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry combined for 239 rushing yards in their season-opening loss against the Bills, and had them looking dominant against one of the NFL's elite for about two and a half quarters. Stopping the zone option and creative run game that features two players who complement each other perfectly is one of the toughest tasks in football, but the Browns have to find some way to slow down the run game to prevent the Ravens from controlling the game.
In the only matchup with Henry on the Ravens against the Browns, where they didn't start Bailey Zappe, Cleveland held Henry to 73 yards on 11 touches, which isn't perfect, but it's about as much as you could ask for against an anomaly like Henry in this offense. The Browns will need to repeat this on Sunday for the upset.
Browns pass rush vs Ravens o-line
Jackson is one of the most gifted players in the entire sport who will make plays that the defense can't do anything about. However, like most, Jackson occasionally looks human when he gets under pressure. His passer ratings tend to drop in the 90s under pressure compared to his usual ratings in the 100-120s. In the season opener, Jackson posted a 70.4 passer rating under pressure and a 156 rating when he was kept clean.
The Browns did a great job at creating pressure with four rushers during Week 1 against the Bengals, and they will need to do the same in Baltimore. Back in their win at home against the Ravens last year, Jackson had a 93.8 passer rating when he wasn't blitzed and a 98.4 rating under pressure, outlining how vital it is for Cleveland to put Jackson under duress with four guys.
Browns pass offense vs Ravens secondary
Offensively, it feels like another game where the Browns are going to struggle to run the ball. Baltimore has been one of the better run defenses consistently, thanks to two strong presences in the interior of the defensive line, while the Browns' run game hasn't looked right for most of the last two to three years.
If the Browns are going to sustain offense and move the ball down the field, it's probably going to come in the passing game. Baltimore has been running a lot of man and cover three over the last two years, meaning a heavy dosage of one-high shells that probably include more cover 0 blitzes than the Browns will typically see. Baltimore's secondary isn't a ton to write home about outside of Kyle Hamilton, giving the pass catchers a chance to win their matchups to generate offense.