Ravens vs. Browns: Previewing Baltimore's Week 12 Matchup
The Baltimore Ravens will look to win consecutive games for the first time this season when they face the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football.
Baltimore is coming off a hard-fought 16-13 win over the St. Louis Rams in Week 11. Cleveland is coming off a bye week following its 30-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10.
This will be the second time these two AFC North rivals meet this season. The Browns won the first matchup earlier this season when they came into Baltimore and won 33-30 in overtime.
The Ravens built a 21-9 lead midway through the third quarter but watched as their defense collapsed and allowed the Browns to go on a 24-9 run to end the game.
Here is our preview of the game for Baltimore.
Game Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Location: FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland
Date: Monday, November 30
TV: ESPN
Week 12 Results and Recap
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While Cleveland will feature most of the same players this week who played in the Week 5 matchup with Baltimore, the same cannot be said for the Ravens.
That's because they've been decimated with injuries since then, especially during their Week 11 win over the Rams. That game saw star quarterback Joe Flacco suffer a torn ACL and MCL on the final drive as Baltimore drove for the game-winning field goal with time expiring.
That wasn't the only loss the Ravens would suffer, though. Early in the first quarter, running back Justin Forsett broke his arm, and he will also be out for the remainder of 2015.
With those two out, the Ravens will likely be going with Matt Schaub at quarterback and Javorius "Buck" Allen as their new starters this week against the Browns.
Here's a look at the rest of the division standings heading into Week 12:
AFC North Standings
Cincinnati Bengals (8-2)
Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4)
Baltimore Ravens (3-7)
Cleveland Browns (2-8)
News and Notes
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Jimmy Clausen Claimed by Ravens
With Joe Flacco now done for the year, Schaub is set to be the Ravens' starting quarterback for the time being.
However, Baltimore still had to add another QB since Flacco and Schaub were the only two QBs on the roster. That's what led to the Ravens claiming Jimmy Clausen off waivers this week after the Chicago Bears waived him.
This was a move everyone saw coming once the Bears parted with Clausen, who actually started one game for the Bears in 2014 when Marc Trestman was his head coach in Chicago.
Trestman was fired by the Bears the offseason and hired by the Ravens to be their offensive coordinator to replace Gary Kubiak, who left to become head coach of the Denver Broncos.
Before being waived this week, Clausen had been with Chicago since the start of 2014 after originally spending three seasons with the Carolina Panthers. Clausen is a former second-round pick out of Notre Dame in the 2010 NFL draft but has never shown that he's good enough to be anything more than a backup.
In 19 career games (12 starts), Clausen has completed 206 of 387 passes (53.2 percent) for 1,965 yards (5.1 yards per attempt) with only five touchdowns versus 11 interceptions.
Though Clausen hasn't shown that he's capable of being a starting QB, he may end up getting a start or two before this season ends.
Matt Schaub Ready for Starting Shot
The 34-year-old Schaub is still a relatively unknown commodity at this point considering he has attempted just 10 regular-season passes since the start of 2014. Schaub had a decent showing in the preseason and actually has had a decent career as a starting QB.
Schaub has been preparing for this moment and is ready to run the starting job for the rest of the season, as he told Garrett Downing of BaltimoreRavens.com.
“I’m absolutely ready,” Schaub said. “If you’re in this business and you’re in this role and you’re not ready and you get called upon, then you’re doing something wrong. I understand that, and I’ve been ready. I just have to go in there and do my job.”
It looked like Schaub was wearing down last season in his lone year with the Oakland Raiders before losing out to Derek Carr for the starting QB job. That led to Schaub being let go this offseason and getting little interest in free agency.
The Ravens opted to bring Schaub in to back up Flacco, though the hope was Schaub would never see the field. After all, Flacco had started in every game since 2008, so the expectation was Schaub would never see the field this season.
“It was shocking,” Schaub said of Flacco’s injury. “I hate the circumstances that they’re falling under; I hate that for Joe.
“It’s the nature of this game, yes, but at the same time, you hate to see that [happen] to a player that’s done it for such a long time in this business. I’m excited for this opportunity, that’s what I’m here for and that’s what I came here to do. You’re always one play away, and we’re at that point.”
It's a tough spot for Schaub to come in and take over a 3-7 team, but he sounds ready for the challenge.
Injury Report
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Kelechi Osemele
The Ravens' offensive line is battered and banged up heading into Monday's game. During Wednesday's practice, starting offensive guard Kelechi Osemele was not on the field for the open portion, according to Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun.
Osemele is dealing with a knee injury that caused him to miss Sunday's win over the Rams. If he's unable to go this week, Ryan Jensen will start in his place.
Eugene Monroe
Also not present during the open portion of Wednesday's session was starting left tackle Eugene Monroe. He left Sunday's win over the Rams with a shoulder injury.
Once he was out, James Hurst became the blindside protector. That will be the case again this week if Monroe can't go against the Browns.
Marlon Brown
As depleted as the Ravens have been at wide receiver this season, Marlon Brown has still failed to become a reliable weapon in the offense. Brown caught seven touchdowns in his rookie season in 2013 but has caught just 38 passes in 24 games since then.
Brown simply hasn't been someone the Ravens have targeted much in the passing game. He also was not present for Wednesday's practice session, though it's unclear as to what injury and/or ailment he may be dealing with.
As depleted as the Ravens' receiving unit is, Brown really needs to step up going forward, but he won't be doing that if he's not practicing.
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Matchups and X-Factor to Watch
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Ravens OTs vs. Browns OLBs
With Eugene Monroe possibly out this week, the Ravens offensive tackles are going to have their work cut out for them against a quality group of Browns outside linebackers.
Right outside linebacker Armonty Bryant has been one of the biggest surprise players for the Browns this season. Bryant leads Cleveland with four sacks this season.
Bryant had just three career sacks coming into this season, and he's part of a Browns front seven that likes to get after the quarterback. Left outside linebacker Paul Kruger is the better-known commodity, as he's been a dominant pass-rusher in the AFC North since 2009.
The former Ravens stud has 32 career sacks, though he has just two this season. Kruger does have a team-high 24 quarterback hurries this season, so he's still doing a job of pressuring quarterbacks.
Second-year outside linebacker Christian Kirksey is also making an impact for the Browns. He has two sacks and 17 stops (tackles causing an offensive failure) this season.
As for the Ravens, the men charged with blocking those guys may include more than two offensive tackles. Ricky Wagner will be the starting right tackle this week, despite struggling massively at times this season.
Wagner is the second-lowest-ranking Ravens player at any position. He's allowed 21 QB hurries this season (second-most on the team) and six QB hits (most). Wagner must step up this week against a quality Browns group of outside pass-rushers.
As for the other starting tackle, if Monroe can't go, that means second-year man James Hurst will start in his place. Unfortunately, Hurst is the worst-ranked Ravens player.
Hurst has allowed three sacks (tied for most on team), 22 QB hurries (most) and four QB hits (second-most). He and Wagner must play better if the Ravens are going to have any shot at winning this game.
X-Factor: Matt Schaub
Offensive success is often determined by how well the quarterback plays. For the Ravens, they've had a lot of success under Flacco since 2008, but he won't be under center this week.
Instead, veteran passer Matt Schaub will get the starting nod for Baltimore. As mentioned before, Schaub was a quality QB when he started for the Texans from 2007-2013, but he has thrown just 10 regular-season passes over the past two years as he appears close to the end of his career.
How well he can still play is the X-factor for the Ravens' chances of winning this week and going forward for the rest of the season.
Prediction
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With the Browns and Ravens being a combined 5-15 coming into this matchup, it's safe to say pride and respect are the only things really on the line this week.
Both of these teams will likely be picking high in the 2015 NFL draft, and both still have a shot at the No. 1 overall pick. As beneficial as having said pick can be for a franchise, neither team wants that, as it would mean they finished with the worst record of any team this season.
The Browns are pretty bad, but the Ravens are too proud a franchise to ever allow that to happen. Still, they don't have the firepower and are undergoing too much change in a short span to be able to win this game.
Cleveland is bad enough that Baltimore will be able to make this a game despite breaking in so many new starters with key guys like Flacco and Forsett out. However, the Browns will do just enough to escape with a close win.
Final Score: Browns 23, Ravens 16
Advanced statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
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