The 2019 Cleveland Browns were all talk and no action, finishing with a 6-10 record causing the much-heralded Browns to miss the playoffs and that resulted in Head Coach Freddie Kitchins being fired. Minnesota Vikings Offensive Coordinator Kevin Stefanski was hired to replace Kitchins and is tasked with making a winner out of an underachieving tackle football team.
The offense is loaded with talent; quarterback Baker Mayfield returns for his third season as the Browns starting quarterback. He’s coming off a difficult season where he threw 22 touchdown passes but was picked off 21 times. Mayfield was sacked 40 times and he has three new offensive linemen to hopefully help Mayfield stay on his feet.
If Mayfield has trouble look for Stefanski to go to offseason acquisition Case Keenum who has plenty of experience as a starting quarterback in the NFL and has thrown for 14,368 yards with 75 career touchdowns along with 47 interceptions over his eight-year career.
Mayfield has plenty of weapons to throw to; Wideouts Odell Beckham Jr, Jarvis Landry, and Rashard Higgins all return, and the Browns signed tight end Austin Hooper to upgrade at the tight end position.
The offensive backfield is as good as it gets; running back Nick Chubb is coming off a 1494 rushing yards season with eight touchdowns and running back Kareem Hunt just signed a two-year extension and adds another outstanding pass catcher out of the backfield.
Cleveland hired Joe Woods as the defensive coordinator and he inherits a talented but undisciplined bunch of defenders who allowed 361.6 yards of total offense with 216.9 passing yards, 144 rushing yards with an average of 24.6 points per game in 2019. Defensive back Greedy Williams is listed as day to day for this contest.
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Ravens Eying Super Bowl
Baltimore had an amazing 2019 season and Coach John Harbaugh’s charges went 14-2 but an early first-round playoff exit left the Ravens with no choice but to revamp its defensive front seven in the hopes they can stop running backs like Derrick Henry run roughshod over them. Right guard and possible Hall of Fame inductee Marshal Yanda decided to retire and that leaves a huge hole in the offensive line. Baltimore feels the changes made will take them to the next level and we’ll have to wait and see how this pans out.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson threw for 3127 yards with 36 touchdowns and just six interceptions while scampering for an additional 1206 yards with seven touchdowns and that helped him to become the second player in NFL history to be a unanimous MVP while also being the second-youngest player to win the award. Robert Griffin III is slated to back up the reigning MVP.
Jackson has three of his top four receivers returning and is led by tight end Mark Andrews. Wideouts Willie Snead IV, Marquise Brown also returns to give the Ravens a solid receiving corps. Look for wide receiver Miles Boykin and tight end Nick Boyle to see plenty of snaps on Sunday.
Besides Jackson, Baltimore returns its top two offensive backs. Running Back Mark Ingram II returns from a 1018 rushing yard season with ten touchdowns and Gus Williams is back to provide much-needed depth in the backfield.
Defensively speaking, the Ravens have made several additions to a team that allowed an NFL fourth-best 300 total yards per game. Baltimore allowed 207 passing yards and 93.4 rushing yards for an average of 17.6 points allowed per game in 2019.
ADVANCED PICK: Browns +8.5 over Ravens