Earl Thomas: Ravens Got 'Tired' of Hearing Hype Around Browns, Baker Mayfield

The Cleveland Browns were among the most hyped teams in the NFL during the preseason, something Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas didn't appreciate.

"The media was talking about OBJ and that tandem and Baker Mayfield, the next savior," Thomas said Wednesday, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN. "Then, to add on to that, Coach [John Harbaugh] talked about it a couple of times in meetings. So guys kind of got tired about it."

The Browns are off to a disappointing 1-2 start to the season and will take on the Ravens (2-1) in Week 4 for what could be an important AFC North battle.

While the Ravens have a chance to put a significant gap between them and second place in the division, head coach John Harbaugh clearly thought highly of Cleveland during the offseason.

"He was just talking about what it looked like on paper," Thomas said of Harbaugh's sentiment in meetings.

The coach also gave the rival plenty of credit in public.

"They're the most talented team in the division," Harbaugh said at the NFL annual meeting in March, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. "There's no question about that right now."

He wasn't the only one excited about the Browns' prospects after adding Odell Beckham Jr.

According to B/R Betting, Cleveland was the odds-on preseason favorite to win the AFC North ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Ravens are now the heavy favorite at -200 ($200 bet wins $100) after the strong start, per Caesars.

"You have to play football at the end of the day," Ravens running back Mark Ingram said. "You can have as many players as you want to on paper, but if guys don't mesh and don't communicate well and play well together, it really doesn't mean anything."