Baltimore Ravens hope to derail confident Cleveland Browns

Baltimore Ravens (-2, 41.5) at Cleveland Browns

Last week the Baltimore Ravens had a choice to either succumb to the media frenzy surrounding the team regarding the Ray Rice situation or make a statement that the locker room was focused on football. The latter is exactly what the team did with a resounding victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Perhaps more importantly for head coach John Harbaugh is the fact his team’s running game of Bernard Pierce and Justin Forsett was just fine.

Harbaugh said, “Both those guys played well, ran hard and protected the football. The offensive line has played really well in front of them, too.”

Added quarterback Joe Flacco, “(The offensive line) did a great job. Any time you can protect the quarterback the way they did and wear a team out and get those running yards late, it’s a credit to those guys.”

Now the Ravens (1-1) travel to Cleveland to face a Browns team (1-1) that surprised the league with a last-minute comeback against the New Orleans Saints. Quarterback Brian Hoyer commanded an 85-yard drive – going 8 of 11 for 78 yards – that led to the game-winning field goal.

Hoyer said, “It’s great to get a win. The biggest thing for me is to win a game like that. We won one like that in my first start against Minnesota last year and you see the guys when you get back to the sideline really believing in you. That’s the best feeling there is.”

Even though the Browns have struggled of late, the Ravens are rivals – for obvious reasons. If Cleveland pulls off the win, this could be the last time you can get them as a home dog. However, Flacco and the points is probably the right play.