Browns Trail Ravens 21-7 At Halftime; Three Takeaways From The First Half

The Cleveland Browns trail the Baltimore Ravens on the road at halftime by a score of 21-7. There have been more spots to improve than to highlight, as miscues and inexperience have cost the Browns at multiple points in the game.

Let’s look at our three takeaways from a shaky first half.

1. Kizer Out, Hogan In- Quarterback DeShone Kizer had a completely different first half this week, struggling early to move the offense down the field. Kizer turned the ball over twice with a fumble and an interception that set the Ravens up twice for scores. Things got worse for the former Notre Dame quarterback when he exited the game in the second quarter with what was later announced as a migraine.Kevin Hogan came in in relief and performed well for most of the quarter, finding tight end David Njoku for a 23-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to get the Browns on the board. Unfortunately for Hogan and the Browns, an interception put the Ravens in business again and they capitalized. Joe Flacco connected with Jeremy Maclin to send Baltimore into halftime with a two-touchdown lead.

Kevin Hogan came in in relief and performed well for most of the quarter, finding tight end David Njoku for a 23-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to get the Browns on the board. Unfortunately for Hogan and the Browns, an interception put the Ravens in business again and they capitalized. Joe Flacco connected with Jeremy Maclin to send Baltimore into halftime with a two-touchdown lead.

2. Defensive’s Youth Showing- The defense, much like Kizer, showed so much promise in the first half of week one’s game against the Steelers. It appears this week the same cannot be said. The defense has allowed 220 total yards to the Ravens’ offense and has been caught of position multiple times to allow Baltimore march down the field. It hasn’t been pretty and hopefully, that can change for the young defense led by Gregg Williams. A good sign to see is that defensive lineman Danny Shelton is back on the field for the Browns after not playing last week.

The defense has allowed 220 total yards to the Ravens’ offense and has been caught of position multiple times to allow Baltimore march down the field. It hasn’t been pretty and hopefully, that can change for the young defense led by Gregg Williams. A good sign to see is that defensive lineman Danny Shelton is back on the field for the Browns after not playing last week.

3. Battling From Behind Once Again- The Browns have now trailed in both of their regular season games by more than ten points. It has to be corrected soon because you don’t win a lot of football games playing catch-up.