AFC North football never really cares about the script, and Sunday’s Ravens-Browns meeting is a fresh reminder. A Lamar Jackson-Deshaun Watson matchup that seemed unlikely a month ago is now set up for a different reason: Watson has settled in just enough to keep Cleveland moving, while Jackson’s ankle injury has kept him out for nearly two weeks.
That puts Baltimore (4-1) into its first divisional game with a bit more uncertainty than expected when it travels to Huntington Bank Field to face the Browns (3-2). The matchup still has all the usual division-night ingredients, too.
“It’s an AFC North game, so we know it’s going to be physical,” Ravens defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said Thursday. “And, regardless of records, it usually comes down to the end, so it’ll be a dogfight.”
One of the biggest questions is whether Baltimore can turn that dogfight into a sack party. Historically, Watson has been vulnerable against the Ravens, going down on 17 of his 127 career regular-season drop-backs against them, a 13.4% sack rate.
And this season hasn’t offered much evidence that he’s protected any better. The Jets sacked him eight times in Sunday’s 17-12 Cleveland loss, and his 2026 sack rate sits at 10.4%, behind only Baker Mayfield among qualifying quarterbacks.
There’s also a Browns offensive line issue worth watching. Starting right tackle Tytus Howard has been limited in practice this week because of a knee injury. Baltimore, meanwhile, ranks 14th in pressure rate at 37.3% but only 20th in sack rate at 5.2%.
“We’re just trying to get consistent in all aspects of our game,” Weaver said. “I think, particularly against this opponent, it becomes even more critical because [of] how dangerous Deshaun can be with his legs. It’s something we’re obviously stressing, and I know our guys are harping on it and focusing on it as a collective, too.”
The Ravens also have an obvious weakness to clean up: third- and fourth-and-long defense. No team has been worse in those situations.
After Atlanta converted 4 of 6 chances Sunday, Baltimore has allowed 15 first downs on 33 third-and-7 or fourth-and-7-or-longer plays. That 45.5% conversion rate is the worst in the NFL, and the only one above 40%.
“There were times where we had pressure and he made nice plays,” coach Jesse Minter said Monday of Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. “There were times where we kind of screwed up a couple things in man coverage. Again, I give those guys credit, but those are areas that we can definitely improve in and focus on.”
Baltimore should get a lift here from Trey Hendrickson, whose return could matter a lot on late downs. He leads the Ravens in pressure rate on third and fourth down at 29.2%, but he has missed the last two games since undergoing surgery for a finger injury.
Cleveland’s offense hasn’t exactly been a juggernaut in those spots, either. The Browns are 5-for-37 on third- and fourth-and-long opportunities, a league-worst 13.5% conversion rate. On Watson’s 34 drop-backs in those situations, he is 10-for-24 for 107 yards and two touchdowns, with five sacks taken.
Baltimore’s receiver group is another place where the lineup could finally start to look closer to the version the team imagined. Rookie Ja’Kobi Lane is set to return Sunday, which would give the Ravens’ top three wideouts a chance to play together again for the first time since the first half of the season opener against Indianapolis.
That matters because the offense looked sharp then. With Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman and Lane all on the field, Baltimore used 11 personnel on 58.3% of its snaps and averaged 8.3 yards per play. Since then, in the Ravens’ four full games, they’ve topped a 53.5% share of 11 personnel only twice, and their output in those looks has dipped to 6.1 yards per play.
Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle has already shown he’s willing to move the pieces around, and that flexibility may become even more important with tight end Durham Smythe out for the year because of an Achilles tendon injury. The Ravens could lean harder into three-wide sets with Jackson at quarterback than they have at any point this season.
“Obviously, Ja’Kobi coming back adds another weapon for us in our room, so definitely looking forward to spreading the ball out more and seeing what our room can do,” Minter said Wednesday. “But definitely proud of what we have been putting on tape so far.”
The offensive line is still a work in progress, too. Baltimore used only two different starting line combinations across 17 games last season. Through five games this year, it already has four.
Injuries have knocked out left tackle Ronnie Stanley, center Jovaughn Gwyn and right guard Andrew Vorhees, forcing a different look almost every week since Week 2:
Week 2: Stanley, John Simpson, Gwyn, Vega Ioane, Roger Rosengarten
Week 3: Carson Vinson, Simpson, Gwyn, Ioane, Rosengarten
Week 4: Stanley, Simpson, Ioane, Vorhees, Rosengarten
Week 5: Stanley, Simpson, Ioane, Emery Jones, Rosengarten
Week 6 may bring another shuffle. Center Cam Jurgens, acquired in a trade from the Philadelphia Eagles last week, practiced Wednesday and Thursday and could finish the NFL’s concussion protocol in time to play. If he’s cleared, Ioane would move back to right guard.
“He’s put himself in a really good position,” Minter said Wednesday. “We’ll make sure that all the medical stuff goes the way we want it to go, and if it does, he’ll be ready. If not, then we’ll be ready to play without him.”
And while Cleveland came into the season with low outside expectations, it’s still the first opponent with a winning record the Ravens have faced all year. Baltimore has also benefited from a light early schedule, according to FTN, playing the NFL’s easiest slate through five weeks with no opponent ranked among the league’s top 16 overall. Even the Browns’ 3-2 start comes with a warning label, since FTN has them 26th in efficiency.
The road gets much rougher after this. From Week 7 through the Week 13 bye, the Ravens are set to run into the Bengals, Bills, Jaguars, Chargers, Panthers and Texans, with those teams ranked No.
5, No. 3, No.
2, No. 29, No. 9 and No. 11, respectively.
In Other News...
Lamar Jackson May Finally Have The Ravens Help He Needed
For much of Lamar Jacksons run in Baltimore, the conversation around the Ravens passing game has started with what was missing. The team has long searched for a wide receiver group that could match the quarterbacks talent and open up more of the offense, but this season feels different. Zay Flowers has become a key piece, Rashod Bateman has taken a clear step forward, and the collection around Jackson finally looks like it has some real staying power.
The encouraging part for Baltimore is that the room still has room to grow, which is where the intrigue comes in. Rookie JaKobi Lanes emergence adds another layer to a group that is already giving Jackson more reliable options than he has typically had, and that kind of depth can change the way defenses have to play the Ravens. If this keeps going, Baltimore may not just have a better receiving corps than usual. It may have the best one Jackson has worked with so far. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Still Waiting On Cam Jurgens As Center Decision Looms
Cam Jurgens status has become one of the bigger early-week questions as Baltimore sorts through its center picture. Jurgens is still working through concussion protocol after self-reporting symptoms last Monday, and he has been limited in practice while wearing a non-contact jersey rather than taking part in full work.
Assistant coach Jesse Minter said the Ravens will wait to see whether Jurgens clears all required medical steps before knowing if he can go Sunday. In the meantime, Vega Ioane has handled center well enough to stay very much in the mix if Baltimore has to pivot, giving the team at least one credible fallback as the decision comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Lamar Jackson's Status Suddenly Looms Over A Huge Ravens Browns Week
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Now the focus shifts to how much Jackson can do as the week goes on and whether Baltimore will have to prepare for another start without its franchise quarterback. The uncertainty has already shown up in the betting market, with sportsbooks adjusting the line as they wait for more clarity, and the next practice reports figures to matter a lot for a matchup that was already carrying plenty of weight. [Read more 🡒]