Browns vs. Ravens: Complete Week 17 Preview for Baltimore
The Baltimore Ravens will have one more shot to potentially clinch a playoff berth when they host the Cleveland Browns in Week 17.
In order for Baltimore to make it to the postseason, Baltimore has to win its home finale over Cleveland, then hope the San Diego Chargers lose to the Kansas City Chiefs.
If the Ravens lose or the Chargers win, that ends Baltimore's playoff hopes. Needless to say, a lot is on the line this week for the Ravens, and they must beat the Browns to have any hope of extending their season past this week.
The Ravens enter this game at 9-6 following their Week 16 loss to the Houston Texans. The Browns enter at 7-8 having lost their last four games and five of their previous six.
Here is my preview of this matchup for Baltimore.
Week 16 Recap
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The Ravens entered Week 16 with a great chance to enhance their playoff positioning with a win over the Texans.
Instead, Baltimore came out and laid an egg that may ultimately cost it a post in the playoffs.
The Texans entered this game with a small chance of making it to the playoffs if they won out, and they looked like the team fighting for its postseason life, not Baltimore.
The Texans jumped out to a quick lead after getting a field goal on their first drive to take a 3-0 lead.
After the Ravens offense went three and out, the Texans went back down the field and got another field goal to take a 6-0 lead.
The Ravens defense did a great job of bending but not breaking, holding the Texans to six field goals on seven red-zone attempts.
The only touchdown Houston got came after Joe Flacco had a second-quarter meltdown that saw him throw a pair of interceptions that led to seven Texans points and Baltimore trailing 16-0 at halftime.
Flacco did manage to get Baltimore into the end zone twice in the second half, the first of which being an eight-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith to cut the deficit to 16-7.
However, Flacco threw his third interception on the ensuing drive, leading to a Houston field goal that gave it a 19-7 lead.
The Ravens wouldn't reach the end zone again until there were just six minutes left in the game, as Flacco hit Smith for a 20-yard score to cut the lead to 13-25, which would be the final score.
News and Notes
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Offensive Line Woes
The Ravens lost to the Texans in large part due to the offensive linemen having collectively their worst game of the 2014 season.
They gave up a season-high 10 QB hits to go with two sacks to Houston. The Texans defense also had nine pass deflections, many of which came at or behind the line of scrimmage after the pocket collapsed.
The real story that will affect Baltimore this week is both starting tackles left the game with injuries. Eugene Monroe left with an ankle injury, while Ricky Wagner left with a foot injury.
Wagner was later placed on season-ending injured reserve, leaving rookie undrafted free agent James Hurst to potentially start in his place versus the Browns this week.
However, Baltimore could also be without Monroe as well this week, as his ankle injury held him out of Wednesday's practice.
It's unclear as to how Baltimore's line will shape out if Monroe is out as well. Offensive guards Ryan Jensen and Kelechi Osemele have played some tackle in the NFL, so one of them could start at right tackle this week.
Hurst actually started at left tackle earlier this year when Monroe was out with a knee injury. Keeping him on the left side makes the most sense if Monroe is out.
Either way, the line is coming off its worst game of the year while also having lost two starters. That's never good, and it will be intriguing to watch if Baltimore is able to overcome it to get to the playoffs.
Ravens Surviving Loss of Haloti Ngata
Baltimore was hit with a potentially devastating loss in Week 14 when it was announced All-Pro defensive lineman Haloti Ngata was suspended for the final four games of the regular season.
However, the Ravens' deep defensive line has been able to overcome his loss by playing collectively better as a unit in his absence.
In terms of run defense, Baltimore is still surrendering just 86.9 yards per game this year, making it the fourth-best run defense.
Since Ngata went out, Baltimore has given up just 89.3 yards per game in its last three contests. Even though Houston gained 123 yards last week, it did so on 38 carries, a mere average of 3.2 yards per rush.
The Ravens will need to come up big again this week against a Browns offense that tends to have more success on the ground then through the air.
Cleveland ranks 17th in rushing offense compared to 21st in pass offense. Last week versus the Carolina Panthers, Cleveland rushed for 84 yards on 22 carries (3.8 YPC) but threw for just 144 yards.
The Browns need to establish the run game for their offense to succeed, and it's imperative Baltimore doesn't allow them to do so.
Injury Report
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| Canty, Chris | DL | Ankle/Thigh | DNP | - | - | - |
| Monroe, Eugene | T | Ankle | DNP | - | - | - |
| Suggs, Terrell | OLB | Back/Thigh | DNP | - | - | - |
- Practice Status
- DNP = Did not participate in practice
- LP = Limited Participation in Practice—less than 100 percent of a player's normal repetitions
- FP = Full Participation—100 percent of a player's normal repetitions
- Out = Player will not play
- (-) = Not Listed = No practice status available
As mentioned before, starting left tackle Eugene Monroe is dealing with an ankle injury that leaves his Week 17 status up in the air.
Starting defensive lineman Chris Canty continues to deal with ankle and thigh injuries that held him out of practice all of last week. However, he was able to play versus the Texans, so he could not practice again this week and still play versus the Browns.
Pro Bowl linebacker Terrell Suggs was held out Wednesday with a back and thigh injury. He hasn't missed a game this year, so don't expect him to miss the regular-season finale.
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Matchups to Watch
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OLB Paul Kruger vs. Ravens Offensive Line
Outside linebacker Paul Kruger emerged as a fierce pass-rusher as a second-round pick of the Ravens in 2009. After two very productive years in 2011 and 2012, Kruger left to sign a lucrative deal with the division-rival Browns.
According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Kruger has registered 11 sacks, 27 QB hurries and 35 stops (tackle causing an offensive failure).
His 8.8 cumulative grade is the 11th best of 30 qualified 3-4 outside linebackers. Needless to say, he's remained one of the NFL's better pass-rushers during his time in Cleveland.
Baltimore must keep a hat on him at all times to keep him off Joe Flacco. What makes Kruger good is the Browns will move him around and blitz him through different offensive line gaps.
It will be up to all five Ravens starters to keep Kruger out of the backfield and disrupting the offense.
RT Mitchell Schwartz vs. OLBs Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil
Just in the same way the Browns like blitzing Paul Kruger from different spots along the line, so too do the Ravens with their outside pass-rushers.
Elvis Dumervil and Terrell Suggs have combined for 32 sacks this year, and they'll both get their shots at Browns right tackle Mitchell Schwartz.
He's allowed a team-high seven sacks and 22 QB hurries this season. In fact, those seven sacks are more than double what any other Browns lineman has allowed, and the 22 hurries are double what the second-placed lineman has allowed.
Needless to say, Schwartz is the weak link in pass protection on this line, and Suggs and Dumervil should have big games against him.
Prediction
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Baltimore isn't about to lose its home finale against a division rival with a spot in the playoffs on the line. After laying an egg last week, Baltimore comes out focused and determined before jumping out to a quick 10-0 lead over Cleveland in this one.
Baltimore runs the ball effectively with a nice 1-2 punch of Justin Forsett and Bernard Pierce to keep the offense moving and Cleveland's offense off the field.
Joe Flacco uses this to hit several big play-action passes to get Baltimore into several scoring opportunities in the first half.
The defense also plays stout, holding Cleveland to just one first-half field goal to take a 13-3 lead into halftime.
However, Cleveland gets the offense going and starts getting stops on defense to make this a one-score game heading into the fourth quarter.
That's where Baltimore's ground game takes over, as Forsett and Pierce grind out tough yards to milk the clock and ultimately get a late touchdown to give Baltimore a two-score lead.
From there, Baltimore's defense finishes strong and shuts out the Browns in the fourth quarter to give the Ravens a win that may ultimately get them into the postseason.
Ravens win 23-13
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