Cleveland Browns: Analyzing The 2016 NFL Schedule: Week Two vs Baltimore Ravens

In the first part of this series we talked about how the Cleveland Browns will start the 2016 regular season with a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on the road. When football teams play at home they have a better opportunity to win the game. The team is more comfortable and have their fans cheering them on.

Week Two: vs Baltimore Ravens: 

The first home game to start the Browns 2016 season is against the Baltimore Ravens on September 18th. The Ravens are coming off of what was one of the worst seasons in the John Harbaugh era. The 5-11 Ravens hope to start their season off strong and win football games early.

In 2015, the Browns won their first matchup against the Ravens on the road. A terrific performance from quarterback Josh McCown and an even better performance from tight end Gary Barnidge, who made an incredible catch to give his team the lead in the fourth quarter. The Browns ended up winning the game with a final score of 33-30.

The next matchup against the Ravens was one Browns fans hope to forget. This closely contested game was once again in Cleveland’s favor. Kicker Travis Coons was just about to attempt a game winning 51-yard field goal with 3 seconds left to give his team yet another victory against the Ravens.

The kick was deflected by defensive end Brent Urban, who was actually playing in his first NFL game with the Ravens, and was then scooped up by safety Will Hill, who went down the left sideline for an improbable victory. The Ravens ended up winning the game 33-27.

As you can see, these matchups were extremely close last season. The Browns hope that their first matchup at home against the Ravens is a victory and is yet again a great game by both teams.

Why They Will Loose: 

I have the Browns winning their first matchup on the road against the Eagles. I explained that quarterback Robert Griffin III will throw some nice passes and the team will get the running game going early. This will then open up the play-action pass which RGIII is tremendous at.

Well… the second game of the season for the Browns will be extremely hard for them. After overcoming a hard fought victory a week prior, the Browns now have to travel to Baltimore to take on a healthy Ravens team. Last season the Ravens were filled with injuries to their offensive and defensive athletes.

Let’s name a few players on offense that the Ravens will have healthy in 2016. Joe Flacco, Steve Smith, Justin Forsett, and Breshad Perriman. The defense will have a healthy Terrell Suggs who is a legitimate threat on defense.

Opening up the short passing game against this team will be the only thing that will work for RGIII. If you want to start running the football with Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson, good luck. The Ravens did a great job last year against the run.

In my honest opinion, I think Griffin III struggles greatly and the offense struggles to move down the field. I don’t realistically see the Browns winning their second game of the season. Stay tuned for the next installment where we cover the Miami Dolphins (I have a good feeling about this game).

All Time Series Record: 25-9 (Ravens lead) 

What do you guys think?