Derrick Henry, at age 30, has 10 rushes of 25 yards or more and leads the NFL in rushing with his new team. He's a two-time NFL rushing champion. (Baltimore Ravens)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is an analyst on the Cleveland Browns for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Browns v. Baltimore Ravens
Sunday, 1 p.m., in Huntington Bank Field
Record: 5-2.
Last game: Defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 41-31, October 21, in Tampa, FL.
Coach: John Harbaugh, 177-111, 16th year.
Series record: Ravens lead, 36-14.
Last meeting: Browns won, 33-31, November 12, 2023, in Baltimore, MD.
League rankings: Offense is first overall (first rushing, sixth passing), defense is 23rd overall (first rushing, 32nd passing) and turnover differential is plus-1.
Things to watch
1. The offense looks unstoppable, tied for first at 31.1 points per game. Since falling to 0-2 with a stunning loss to the Raiders, the Ravens have won five in a row, scoring 28 v. Dallas, 35 v. Buffalo, 41 v. Cincinnati, 30 v. Washington, and 41 v. Tampa Bay. Buffalo, Washington and Tampa Bay were division leaders and the Ravens outscored them, 106-64.
2. If the season ended today, the Ravens probably would boast the league MVP, quarterback Lamar Jackson, and offensive player-of-the-year, running back Derrick Henry. Jackson is first in passer rating (118.0), second in touchdowns (15) and second in yards per attempt (9.1). Henry is first in rushing yards (873), first in rushing average (6.5) and tied for first in rushing TD (8).
3. In the second year under coordinator Todd Monken, Jackson has been given more responsibility to check out of bad plays at the line of scrimmage. He is spreading around the ball – five different targets have two or more touchdowns. Jackson is still a serious threat to run (466 rushing yards, 6.2 average, 2 TD), but he is more selective and doesn’t have the speed of, say, three years ago when he was ripping off long gains.
4. They score a lot because they have to. Their defense gives up 25.7 points a game – 26th in the NFL. They’re last in pass defense after finishing sixth last year with virtually the same personnel. They actually added a cornerback taken in the first round, Nate Wiggins. The problem is a new defensive staff necessitated when coordinator Mike MacDonald left to be Seattle’s head coach and secondary coach Dennard Wilson left to be Tennessee’s defensive coordinator. Former LB coach Zach Orr was promoted to DC. It’s his first year calling defensive plays. Two weeks ago, the club brought back former coordinator Dean Pees to serve as a defensive consultant.
5. Kicker Justin Tucker is still The Assassin. The sport’s greatest kicker drew some heat when he missed from 53 and 56 yards. Since then, Tucker has 7 of his last 8 field goals tries, including bombs from 56 and 52 yards. Tucker’s 89.8% field goal accuracy mark is the highest in NFL history and his 66-yard field goal is the longest in league history.
Did you know … ?
1. Henry used to carry the nickname King Henry with Tennessee when he led the NFL in rushing in consecutive seasons. The Ravens call him The Closer because his running usually closes out victories. Henry has 10 rushes of 25 yards or more through eight games.
2. By the way, Henry was thought to be over-the-hill because he averaged a career-low 4.2 yards a carry in his age 29 season last year with the Titans. He wasn’t even in the first wave of free agent signings among running backs. The Ravens had no competition for him and signed him for $16 million over two years with $9 million guaranteed. Quite a bargain.
3. Marlon Humphrey, the Ravens’ best cornerback, left the Tampa Bay game with a knee injury. His game status is sketchy. He would be replaced by Wiggins.
4. Replacing three starters on the offensive line was considered a concern when the team broke camp. But it has stabilized into a strength by the addition of rookie second-round pick Roger Rosengarten, who took over at right tackle in Game 4. At the same time, veteran Patrick Mekari moved to left guard.
5. Right guard Daniel Faalele is one of the largest humans in the NFL. The fourth-round pick in 2022 is 6-8 and 380 pounds. (Dawand Jones is 6-8 and 375, allegedly.)
Small world: Executive vice president Ozzie Newsome played 13 seasons with the Browns and holds the franchise record for most career receptions. He was voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999 … President Sashi Brown was Browns general counsel (2013-15) and executive vice president of football operations (2016-17) … Offensive line coach George Warhop held the same position with the Browns (2009-13) … Offensive coordinator Todd Monken held that job with the Browns in 2019 … Quarterback Josh Johnson was with the Browns in 2012.