NFL Week 5: Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland Browns Preview

Erik Drost via Flickr

NFL

The Baltimore Ravens Travel To Face AFC North Foe, The Cleveland Browns

Week 5 of the NFL season brings us yet another AFC North division bout. The Baltimore Ravens (3-1) will be heading to Paul Brown Stadium to take on the Cleveland Browns (1-2-1). The Baltimore Ravens lead the all-time series 29-9.

Baltimore Offense Booms And Defense Stymies

Baltimore secured a signature win in Week 4 over its division foe, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The offensive and defensive units played as complete of a game as they have all season. Quarterback Joe Flacco shined against a struggling Pittsburgh defense, throwing for 363 yards and tossing two touchdowns. However, the Baltimore defense may have been even more impressive.

Tied 14-14 entering the third quarter, Baltimore not only shutout Pittsburgh’s explosive offense in the second half, but also held quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to a mere 47 yards. A dominant win, along with the return of former Pro Bowler Jimmy Smith, could solidify this Baltimore defensive unit as the best in the NFL.

Cleveland Gets Edged By Oakland

The Cleveland Browns had yet another “barn burner” in Week 4 against the Oakland Raiders. With Baker Mayfield taking his first NFL start, the Browns showed highs and lows. One of those highs included a huge explosion from rookie Nick Chubb. Chubb churned for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Even more impressive, Chubb achieved that stat line with fewer carries than Baker Mayfield.

Fortunately, Mayfield wasn’t named the Browns starter to rush the football. Mayfield was expected to bring explosiveness to the Cleveland offense immediately. While his performance wasn’t perfect in a 45-42 loss to Oakland—Baker showed great promise. The former Sooner even gained the attention of Ravens defensive coordinator, Don Martindale.

Baltimore Offense vs. Cleveland Defense

The Baltimore Ravens defense, as well as the Cleveland Browns offense, have shown how explosive they can be when they are clicking on all cylinders. The latter, however, have much improvement to make. The Baltimore offense has showcased glimpses of explosiveness, but the Ravens ground game has still been abysmal.

Baltimore is averaging a mere 3.1 yards per rush, tied for a league low. Baltimore is looking to showcase explosiveness in the running game against a Cleveland unit that has yielded 116.8 rushing yards per game. Although the Cleveland Browns are 1-2-1 going into Week 5, the team has a mere point differential of -2. All four of Cleveland’s matchups had a point margin of four points or less.

While this Cleveland team has proven that it can compete with any team in the league, the defense will need to come up with crucial stops. This Cleveland unit boasts a lackluster 25th in yards per game allowed.

Fantasy Implications

Tailback Nick Chubb exploded for a monster week against Oakland. Chubb racked up 22+ points in all standard leagues. However, as long as Duke Johnson Jr. and Carlos Hyde remain in the backfield, all of Cleveland’s backs are limited in fantasy value. While wide receiver Jarvis Landry has a tough match-up ahead, he generates enough targets to warrant a start in all PPR leagues.

Ravens wideout John Brown deserves a start in all leagues. Joe Flacco has mid-tier QB1 value as the Baltimore Ravens, and the Cleveland Browns prepare for a division clash.

Date: Sunday, October 7th, 2018

Time: 1:00pm EST

Location: FirstEnergy Stadium – Cleveland, OH

Photo Credit

Featured Image courtesy of Erik Drost

 

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