Written by Thomas Moore

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The Cleveland Browns head to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in the NFL Network’s nationally televised Thursday night game of the week.

Should be a lovely time.

The Opposition

Baltimore’s record: 2-1
Offensive rank: 4th overall/3rd passing/11th rushing
Defensive rank: 27th overall/28th passing/28th rushing
All-time record: Ravens lead, 19-7
Last meeting: Ravens won, 20-14, on Christmas Eve in Baltimore
The line: Browns (+12)

What to Watch For

How will the Browns respond after a team-wide poor showing on Sunday against Buffalo? In some ways, having a short week could be a blessing for the Browns as they get a chance to wash the losing taste out of their months quickly.

Plus, facing a division foe should help with the game planning. As the teams face each other twice a year, there really shouldn’t be anything the Ravens can throw at the Browns that they are not expecting.

Of course, being the Browns, none of that may matter.

“Every game is a big test,” coach Pat Shurmur said. “The new challenge this week of course is it’s a short week and our guys have an opportunity to play at night on national TV, but other than that each week is tough. We can talk about how good (the Ravens) are and I think you can go position by position and talk about how good they are. I think we are too so we’re going to go down there and battle it out.

“There’s some familiarity with the Ravens and most of their players are the same as a year ago. Their schemes are very similar to what we played against last year, there are obviously wrinkles each year and again their offense is a little bit more wide open.”

The Ravens are off to a poor start defensively, ranking two spots below the Browns in overall defense and one spot lower in passing defense. The Ravens are still tough against the run, giving up just 3.3 yards per carry, which could mean another long day for Browns running back Trent Richardson.

“We have to get some movement up front,” Richardson said. “We have to stop them from penetrating and really just stick to the basics. We can’t do anything all fancy. We have to go downhill.”

If Richardson can get through the defensive line, he may be able to have a big day.

“We have to get Trent to the second level and get him past the line of scrimmage and not make him battle as much at the line of scrimmage,” offensive coordinator Brad Childress said. “Obviously move it past the defensive line and on to the linebackers and second level because that’s to me where he can end up doing most of his damage.”

The Browns need to be able to run the ball – or at least make Baltimore think they can – so they don’t have to rely exclusively on quarterback Brandon Weeden, who threw way too many times in the second half against Buffalo as the Browns only ran twice after halftime.

Even though he’s struggled with the long ball, Weeden needs to continue to air it out to keep the defense from loading up at the line of scrimmage – even if it means testing Ed Reed, who has feasted on Browns quarterbacks over the years.

“Do you scheme around (Reed)? You don’t scheme around him because he’s got a mind of his own,” Childress said. “He and to me a guy like (Troy) Polamalu show up in places and they’re very extremely instinctual and obviously have been tremendously productive.

“Somewhere you’ve got to hit one of those (long passes) or otherwise they go in the books as a long foul ball. We’ve had a couple opportunities up the field and we need to hit a couple of those things because those have a way of taking some people out of where you’re playing.”

On the defensive end, the Browns will have to contend with Baltimore’s no-huddle attack, which has put up 98 points in three games, the most in the AFC. Quarterback Joe Flacco has thrown for more than 900 yards so far with six touchdowns, while running back Ray Rice has three rushing touchdowns.

“(Flacco’s) got a very, very strong arm so he can reach about anywhere on the field with the ball,” defensive coordinator Dick Jauron said. “If the play lasts longer than you anticipate, it’s hard to defend it. We would like to disrupt them coming off the line of scrimmage, we just have to try to change up what we do trying to do that. The pass rush has to put pressure on him so he’s not comfortable, and can’t measure every throw. Then we’re going to have to be on top of people down the field because they can run and he can throw it a long ways.

“They’re a very talented offensive team. They’ve got speed outside. They’ve got experience outside and inside. They’ve got their tight ends that are very athletic. We haven’t even talked about the running back, so they really can stretch you out and give you problems, matchup problems, and they do a good job doing it.”

Browns vs. Ravens Facts That May or May Not Mean Something

The Browns and Ravens have met three times in prime time, with Baltimore winning each time.

The Prediction

There is really no way that Cleveland should be able to win this game. The Ravens are more talented and the Browns were a complete mess on Sunday.

However, if they were ever going to pull off an upset, this could be the week. The Ravens are old on defense and they may not respond as well working on a short week. Plus, they are coming off an emotional win on Sunday night against New England. And there is an outside chance the regular referees will be on the field in time for the game.

One thing we shouldn’t have to worry about is the game being too big for Weeden and Richardson. Weeden played in plenty of high-profile games at Oklahoma State, and the national stage isn’t any bigger than it is in the SEC.

“It is just another game to me,” Richardson said. “I just came from a place that had a lot of showcasing and a lot of media so that doesn’t really bother me at all. I just can’t wait to get out there Thursday and showcase every skill that I’ve got that God has blessed me with.”

And the Browns are 3-5 all-time against AFC North teams on Thursday nights; not a great percentage but certainly better than their overall winning percentage.

The team is also struggling to stay positive during what has been a frustrating 0-3 start to the season.

“There’s so much negative vibe outside this locker room,” Weeden said. “It’s everywhere. In this locker room, my goal and I think the rest of the guys’ goal is to keep the positive vibe in here. It’s good right now. Yeah, we’re all frustrated, we all want to be 3-0, but any time you let all the outside frustrations come into this locker room, it starts breaking guys apart. That’s a recipe for disaster. We want to keep all the positive vibes we can in this locker room. There’s a lot of football left to be played the rest of the year.”

One thing the Browns have taught us over the years is that they can surprise us with the most unexpected of victories.

Will Thursday night be one of those nights?

Not this time. Take the Ravens, give the points, and just hope the team doesn’t embarrass itself on national television.

Record picking the Browns: 0-2-1

(Photo courtesy of ClevelandBrowns.com)