Win at the line of scrimmage
Last time Cleveland and Baltimore met, the Ravens’ defense registered two sacks. However, Baltimore frequently broke into the backfield, recording seven tackles for loss, and pressured the quarterback with nine quarterback hits on former Browns QB Joe Flacco.
The Browns’ defense also succeeded in getting into the backfield. Cleveland recorded three sacks, five quarterback hits and five tackles for loss.
Winning the battle at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball will help Cleveland energize the offense and stop Baltimore’s offense from gaining momentum.
In Week 10, Gabriel had the fifth-fastest snap to throw time in the NFL, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. The Jets sacked Gabriel six times despite the 2.76 second average it took him to throw the ball. To spark the Browns’ offense, the offensive line needs to open up running lanes for Judkins while also giving Gabriel time to go through his reads and make a throw.
Cleveland has to deal with Jackson and RB Derrick Henry on the other side of the ball. The pair provides the Ravens’ offense with explosive play potential due to both of their running abilities but also Jackson’s arm. DE Myles Garrett will be a part of Cleveland’s plan in order to stop the impact of Jackson and Henry. Baltimore recognizes Garrett’s talent and will plan to find a way to stop him in the trenches.
“They’ve got all kinds of different looks (to stop me), and you have to kind of take the run game into account as well,” Garrett said. “You got to always be a bit on edge, not to get too geared to play the pass because at the end of the day, you go a bit too far up field and (Derrick) Henry’s coming downhill, going north, south. And that’s just a bad day for everybody. So, I mean, all that, to take into account with the most dynamic quarterback we’ve ever seen. It’s tough.”