Week 2 Browns @ Ravens: Beatdown’s Staff Predictions

The Cleveland Browns will travel to Baltimore on Sunday for an AFC North clash against the Ravens in front of what should be a raucous home crowd. The Ravens picked up a valuable road win last weekend against a shorthanded Bengals team, while the Browns dropped a close home game against Pittsburgh. John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco have dominated Cleveland since 2008. However, the Browns will bring an athletic young squad and capable head coach Hue Jackson will have his rookie quarterback as ready as possible.

Baltimore Beatdown’s Week 2 predictions:

Ravens 31, Browns 10. Baltimore continues to roll with the dominant defensive performance from Cincy and forces turnovers from Kizer which give Flacco and the offense short fields. Flacco finally starts to air it out in the comfort of his own home on various play actions, hitting deep on passes to both Wallace and Maclin. The defense has 6 sacks and 2 more interceptions, allowing yet again for no rookie QB to ever win in Ravens stadium. The offense sees a pair of rushing touchdowns from West, as well as passing TDs from Joe to Maxx Williams and Breshad Perriman. Baltimore flies across the pond with high praise as they get ready for JAX. - Brian Malan

Ravens 16, Browns 13. This is going to be another close matchup between these two teams. Say what you want about the Browns, but they always play the Ravens tough. DeShone Kizer looked very good against the Steelers, and while the Browns gave up almost 200 yards to Antonio Brown, Baltimore doesn't have anything close to Antonio Brown. I think the Ravens defense plays well, and the offense will be balanced with an emphasis on the run game again. I think Justin Tucker will be the key in this one. - Evan Mazza

Ravens 23, Browns 14. I'd expect the Browns to keep things uncomfortably close. They're a young team with a ton of raw athleticism, and with that poses the upside to do some damage. I don't know if DeShone Kizer is ultimately the savior there just yet, but he looked like he could possibly develop into one against Pittsburgh. Expect some big plays from the rookie passer, but also some big mistakes that will set up Justin Tucker to put this game out of reach. - Jacob Louque

Ravens 16, Browns 10. This will be a low scoring affair. Both teams are ineffective on the ground in the first half, but Kizer finds his rhythm right before halftime with a scoring strike to Corey Coleman. Play action opens up the Ravens offense in the third quarter, with Flacco connecting on several deep balls to his speedy trio of receivers. Coordinator Pees blitzes relentlessly in the fourth quarter, the home crowd rattles Kizer and Jimmy Smith snares the game ending interception. - Vasilis Lericos