The Baltimore Ravens won last year’s Super Bowl, signed QB Joe Flacco to a massive contract over the off-season to maintain some stability at the quarterback position, and they’ve won 11 games in a row against the Cleveland Browns. That all sounds well and good, but the 3-4 Ravens have only a marginally better record than the 3-5 Browns this year, and they’re playing the Browns in Cleveland at First Energy Stadium. If you can’t catch the game on CBS, you can also watch Ravens vs Browns online free streaming using one of several different methods. Kickoff is slated for 4:25 EST / 1:25 PST.
The Ravens’ Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce looked like the AFC’s top backfield tandem in August. Well, it’s now November, and August seems about as far away as last season’s Super Bowl celebration. Baltimore’s offensive line can’t open holes for the running game, much less control the line of scrimmage, which is having disastrous effects on the Ravens’ rushing and passing attacks. For the season, the Ravens have just the 28th-ranked rushing totals and the 12th-ranked passing game, resulting in an offense ranked 20th overall in the league. They do have the 16th-ranked defense, but that’ll only help today because the Cleveland Browns have the NFL’s 24th-ranked offense.
The Browns seem to have the defensive advantage in today’s game, with their defense ranked seventh in the league. Although the Browns allow more passing, rushing and total yards per game than the Ravens, they’ve somehow managed to hold teams to fewer points than the Ravens do, and their third-down conversion allowance is notably better than Baltimore’s.
In addition, Joe Flacco is suffering from what can only be described as a post-contract letdown. Sure points to a Browns victory, no? Um, no. When you watch Ravens vs Browns online free streaming today, you may see a decent defense , but you’ll see a Cleveland offense that’s started three different quarterbacks since Week 2, when they last faced the Ravens and lost. What’s more, the Ravens have held the Browns under 17 points in each of these teams’ last nine meetings, and Browns QB Jason Campbell isn’t likely going to have the time he needs in the pocket to end that streak.
If there’s hope for the Browns, it’s that the Ravens didn’t face wide receiver Josh Gordon last time these teams played because he was serving a two-game suspension. Gordon will be back today, and his impact is bound to be felt. Not only is Gordon second in the NFL for yards per catch, but every touchdown he’s scored in his career has been for at least 20 yards. Yet Gordon alone can’t overcome quarterback troubles, and he certainly can’t break away for those 20-yard bombs when the defense is continually getting pressure.
Which brings us back to these teams’ records. The 3-4 Ravens don’t look anywhere near the team that won last year’s championship, but the 3-5 Browns don’t even look the same from week to week. You can watch Ravens vs Browns online free streaming on DirecTV’s website if you have the NFL Sunday Ticket Package. The Sunday Ticket package requires a subscription, but anyone who has one can watch the live streaming version of any NFL game, including today’s matchup in Cleveland.