Browns Preview: Bumming Out in Baltimore?

By Adam Dobrowolski
Cold, Hard Football Facts Jolly Beat Reporter

During the holiday season, it's relatively easy to fell jolly about life. There are gifts and presents all around, whether it's under tree or at a charity event. Unfortunately, for football teams like the Cleveland Browns, they only giving involved will be the Browns giving their opponents a great chance to win. As the Baltimore Ravens look to wipe off the stench from a bad loss in San Diego, they are more than glad to invite the Browns to town.

As the Cleveland offense continues to struggle, they decided to sit down quarterback Colt McCoy for the season due to his concussion-related issues. Enter Seneca Wallace, who played solid football last week with 91.6 passer rating last week in Arizona against a solid pass defense. Wallace will definitely struggle against the Ravens pass defense, which may be the best league besides Houston. The Ravens rank third in Defensive Real Passing Yards per Attempt, second in Defensive Real Quarterback Rating and second in Defensive Passer Rating. Despite some better-than-average success for Cleveland, the Browns still only scored 17 points last week. They will very hard-pressed to match that total, let alone surpass that total.

It will be even tougher to move the football, considering Baltimore's success at home. The Ravens are perfect at home with a 7-0 record, and they allowed 14 points or fewer in four of those games. This includes limiting the Ben Roethlisberger-led Steelers to seven points and the Matt Schaub-led Texans to 14 points. With that crowd, Baltimore's top-ranked Defensive Hogs should be active all day tomorrow. Meanwhile, Cleveland offers little resistance with its 22nd-ranked Offensive Hogs.

Cleveland's offense still looks stuck in the early 1990s, so don't expect much on the scoreboard. Meanwhile, Baltimore's offense can salt this game away with its rushing attack. Remember, the Ravens ran for 290 yards three weeks ago in Cleveland during a 24-10 loss for the Browns. Quarterback Joe Flacco should be able to have a smooth afternoon by simplying handing off the ball to Ray Rice and Ricky Williams. Cleveland's defensive line is starting to wear out as the season progress, falling to 23rd in the Defensive Hog Index, so the Ravens would be best to keep things slow and steady until the Browns dictate otherwise.

Expect a not-so-nice holiday greeting in Baltimore as the Ravens jingle all the way to a relatively easy win on Christmas Eve.

---

---

Read more: Cleveland Browns, NFL, NFL Week 16