Will the Ravens be able to run the ball?
When the teams met in Week 2, the Ravens couldn’t get their run game started and as a result, the offense sputtered for the better part of 2 ½ quarters. With the Browns stacking the box, the Ravens had only 45 rushing yards on 21 carries. Derrick Henry had just 23 yards on 11 carries. The Ravens believe they are running the ball better than they were earlier this season and Keaton Mitchell, who was inactive in the first meeting, has injected some juice into the running game. Cleveland, though, always prioritizes stopping Baltimore’s run game first. It will be an interesting matchup.
Can the Ravens prevent Myles Garrett from wrecking the game?
Asked about Garrett during the week, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said that the Ravens will try and get as many “hands and objects” as possible on the Browns star. Obviously, they’ll have to keep it to hands, but any recipe for a letdown for the Ravens includes them letting Garrett take over the game. Garrett had 1 ½ sacks against the Ravens in Week 2, getting the better of Baltimore left tackle Ronnie Stanley. The Ravens know that Garrett is going to make some plays. He’s too good not to. However, they want to keep him from making game-changing plays at key moments.
Will the Ravens defensive roll continue?
It’s not that the Ravens are suddenly smothering teams defensively. They are playing better, but the biggest difference is they are now forcing turnovers. They’ve forced three turnovers in each of the past two games and eight turnovers over their last four games after they forced just two over the first five contests. Two forced turnovers in Week 2 against the Browns allowed them to blow the game open late. Turnovers tend to come in bunches and if the Ravens are able to harass Dillon Gabriel and get a few takeaways, it could become a long day for the home team.
