3 Takeaways from Browns' Week 4 Loss vs. Ravens

The Cleveland Browns had a chance hold of first place in the AFC North on Sunday, but instead, they fell to the rival Baltimore Ravens in a very lopsided contest.

It was one of the sloppiest games we've seen from Cleveland, offensively, since its 0-16 campaign of 2017. Though, to be fair, the Browns were without a few key players.

Cleveland lost starting right tackle Jack Conklin to a torn ACL and MCL in Week 1. It lost star running back Nick Chubb to a season-ending knee injury in Week 2. On Sunday, starting quarterback Deshaun Watson was unavailable due to a shoulder injury.

Rookie fifth-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson got the start and played about as well as one would expect from an inexperienced rookie against an aggressive Baltimore defense. The result was a humbling loss and a spot behind the 3-1 Ravens in the division.

Here's what we learned during Cleveland's 28-3 loss to the Ravens in Week 4.

The Defense Doesn't Deserve Blame

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Browns edge Myles Garrett

The Browns defense came into Week 4 ranked first in both yards and points allowed. It had surrendered only six points at home and had allowed only one offensive touchdown.

A lot of folks will be quit to point to Sunday's game and say that Cleveland's defense through the first three weeks was a mirage. It had only faced a banged-up Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals, a lackluster Pittsburgh Steelers offense, and the woefully inconsistent Tennessee Titans.

Lamar Jackson and the Ravens represented the toughest test the Browns defense has faced to this point, and the defense couldn't do enough to win.

However, it's impossible to blame a unit that was playing a one-sided game. While Cleveland actually ran more offensive plays than Baltimore, it punted eight times and turned it over three times—twice in Browns territory.

The defense still held Baltimore to less than 300 total yards and an underwhelming 33-percent third-down conversion rate.

Just because Jim Schwartz's unit wasn't good enough to overcome the complete lack of a functional offense doesn't mean that it isn't still very good. With a lesser defense—like the unit coached by Joe Woods in 2022—this would have been an even more lopsided loss than it was.

Trading Joshua Dobbs May Have Been a Mistake

Michael Owens/Getty Images

Cardinals QB Joshua Dobbs

Just before the start of the season, the Browns traded quarterback Joshua Dobbs and a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals for a 2024 fifth-round pick.

This made Thompson-Robinson the backup instead of Dobbs—who had been in the NFL since 2017 and made two starts for the Titans in 2022—while yielding a minimal return.

While Cleveland clearly didn't plan on relying on its No. 2 QB often this season, it wasn't the best backup plan for a team with playoff aspirations. Would the Browns have won this game with Dobbs under center? Perhaps not, but things couldn't have been any worse, offensively.

Thompson-Robinson looked promising in the preseason, but exhibition games are deceiving. Sunday's loss showed that the rookie is far from a finished product. Thompson-Robinson was just 19-of-36 for 121 yards and three interceptions. With the game moving too fast for Thompson-Robinson to process, the Ravens were able to focus on pressuring the QB and stopping the run.

Cleveland was just 4-of-16 on third down, only recorded 14 first downs, averaged a mere 2.6 yards per play and engineered nothing more than a field-goal drive. Dobbs experience might have at least given the Browns a chance

The Browns never really had a chance with Thompson-Robinson, and it could cost them dearly in what is expected to be a tight divisional race.

The Bye Week Couldn't Come at a Better Time

Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski

Here's the silver lining. The Browns are still 2-2 and very much in the thick of the AFC playoff race. Early bye weeks can be problematic down the stretch, but Cleveland's couldn't come at a better time.

The Browns will have a week to regroup and get healthy. Watson, who played his first good game in a Cleveland uniform in Week 3, should be back to 100 percent, along with other players. Za'Darius Smith briefly exited the game in the first half, while Dawand Jones exited in the second.

The defense should be fully rested after what was an undoubtedly and exhausting divisional battle.

Perhaps more importantly, head coach Kevin Stefanski will get a little extra time to figure out how to best use Kareem Hunt and Jerome Ford to spark the Chubb-less ground game.

Cleveland has failed to reach 100 rushing yards in either of the two games played since Chubb's injury.

And the Browns could desperately use the extra preparation time because the undefeated San Francisco 49ers will be coming to Cleveland in Week 6.