Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens Week 14 Bet Preview and Picks

The Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns met two weeks ago on Sunday Night Football, with the Ravens winning that matchup in Baltimore.

Now, the Browns get set to play the Ravens for the second game in a row, as they come off of their bye looking to get back above .500 at home. Cleveland enters this game as a 2.5-point favorite, but two slumping offenses will make this matchup a difficult one to pick a winner out of.

Baltimore Ravens

John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens were not able to follow up their win over the Cleveland Browns two games ago with a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.

Instead, the Ravens fell 20-19 in a game that was decided by a failed two-point conversion attempt by the Ravens in the final seconds of action. More important than the result, perhaps, is the fact that the offensive woes for the Baltimore Ravens persisted in another important game.

Over the last four games, the Baltimore Ravens have failed to score 20 or more points once. Quarterback Lamar Jackson has been turning the ball over at an alarming rate, with his performance against the Browns in their first meeting of the season seeing the former MVP throw four interceptions.

Against a Browns defense that performed well against him the first time, Jackson must be more precise if the Ravens want to win on the road here.

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Cleveland Browns

Cleveland clearly needed their bye week when they got it, getting a week off after weeks of inconsistent play that was punctuated by their loss to the Ravens on Sunday Night Football.

Cleveland’s offense had been struggling just like that of the Ravens over the last three weeks prior to the Browns’ bye. Over their last three games, the Browns had scored a combined 30 points, averaging just 10 points per game over that stretch.

Just like the Ravens need Lamar Jackson to be better, the Browns need the same from Baker Mayfield, starting with this week’s division matchup with the Ravens.

Mayfield has been battling injuries all season, but his inaccuracy has killed drives too often for the Browns and could be costly again if he can’t locate his throws this week.

Keys to the Game

The Baltimore Ravens’ biggest key in this game is to find a way to make things easier for Lamar Jackson. What they are doing is clearly not working for him, and they lack the top-end talent in the backfield to take some of the pressure off of him like they could in previous seasons.

Whether that means focusing more on his running ability or simplifying his throws, Baltimore has to adjust to help their quarterback play his best.

On the Browns’ side, the key to this game is going to be avoiding mistakes. Cleveland made too many mistakes via penalties or poor execution two weeks ago.

Another mistake-filled contest from the Browns could drop them to 6-7 on the season, which could signal the end of their candidacy to make a run to the AFC playoffs this season.