Week 14 - Ravens (7-5) @ Browns (9-3)
Spread - Ravens (-3)
We have a great matchup for Monday Night Football this week. The 7-5 Baltimore Ravens are traveling to take on the 9-3 Cleveland Browns. What a sentence! A Baltimore win would put them in a tie with the Miami Dolphins for the 7th seed in the AFC. The Ravens are coming off a win over the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday night, while the Browns are riding a four game win streak. Cleveland has gotten victories over Houston, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, and Tennessee during that time. The Titans are the only good team of the bunch, and oddly enough, that's the one game where Cleveland has looked strong. Their wins over Houston, Jacksonville, and Philly were all struggles, and those are games that great teams should win easily.
The Ravens have had a rough season. It feels weird to say that while they're 7-5, but they haven't been very impressive so far. Their only impressive wins are over the Indianapolis Colts in November and the team they meet tonight, the Cleveland Browns. Baltimore won the last game between these two teams by a score of 38-6. Honestly, the game didn't even feel that close. Lamar Jackson has been good, but not as good as he was last year. It feels like they need another piece or two out wide to help Lamar move the ball through the air. A receiving core made up of Willie Snead, Hollywood Brown, and two rookies just isn't going to cut it in a competitive AFC. With the lack of weapons outside, they've completely relied on the running game again. It's worked pretty well for the most part, but less so than last season. This Browns defense has been pretty vulnerable when they have to play in normal weather conditions, so look for Baltimore to be able to score a ton of points today in Cleveland. Even if the weather sucks, the Ravens run game should be enough to get them on the board.
Speaking of the run game, the Browns arguably have the best running back duo in the league. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt have both put up pro bowl caliber seasons. Both backs have a chance to rack up over 1,000 yards on the ground this season. The last time a team had two 1,000 yard rushers was actually the 2019 Ravens, but the last team to do it with two running backs was the 2009 Carolina Panthers. Chubb and Hunt compare pretty well to DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, but I would take Cleveland's group if I had to choose. Baker Mayfield needs to take care of the football and hit the throws Baltimore gives him tonight. If Baker has a good outing, Cleveland wins. Baker playing well paired with that running back duo is a fantastic combination. I don't think this team is as good as their record, but they're a playoff team with an offense that can be lethal. I expect this game to be very close, but I have to take the home underdogs.
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