Beatdown contributors share their bold predictions for Week 10.
The Baltimore Ravens will be playing the second in a three-game homestand on Sunday, taking on the Cleveland Browns in an AFC North divisional clash. Here are a few bold predictions for Week 10 from the Baltimore Beatdown staff.
The Ravens will blow out the Browns again, their defense will outperform theirs again, and this time around, they won’t be able to use the rookie quarterback excuse because their two-time Pro Bowler will be under center. Mike Macdonald’s unit will make Deshaun Watson look just as bad if not even worse than Dorian Thompson-Robinson because he’ll be playing behind a pair of backup offensive tackles. The Ravens will have at least two players with two sacks and record a new single-game season-high as a group and might just reach double digits for just the second time in franchise history and for the first time since 2018. Justin Madubuike and Geno Stone will extend their respective consecutive games streak with a sack and an interception.
On the other side of the ball, Lamar Jackson will make Myles Garrett eat his words with an even more impressive passing performance than he did in their first meeting of the season. The Ravens will record 30-plus points for the fourth straight game with a season-high 45 points fueled by a classic Jackson-five passing touchdown performance. Rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers will record his first career game of 100-plus receiving yards and undrafted rookie running back Keaton Mitchell will rip off another long touchdown run of 40-plus yards. — Joshua Reed
In round two of the Browns series, Deshaun Watson plays this time. But it doesn’t matter. With their top 3 tackles out, the Browns line struggles mighty against the team with the most sacks. Odafe Oweh, Jadeveon Clowney, and Kyle Van Noy feast off the edge, combining for four sacks as a group. Watson struggles and the run game gets nothing. Under 100 yards rushing and under 200 yards passing. Browns score no more than 14.
Ravens offense has a quieter day than last week, but still wins by multiple scores. Just like the first game, the wide receivers have quiet days against a talented secondary. But Mark Andrews loves playing against Cleveland and has a 100-yard day with at least one score. All three of Edwards, Mitchell, and Hill have at least one explosive play of 15 yards or more as the RBs go for 150 plus in this one. — Zach Canter
In the rematch of elite defenses, the Ravens will once again prove their dominance as the best in the NFL against the Cleveland Browns. The Ravens proved they could succeed against a good – not great – Browns run defense, and on Sunday they’ll do it again. The emergence of running back Keaton Mitchell will prove to be another thorn in the Browns’ side as Baltimore runs for over 200 yards for the second consecutive week.
While starting quarterback Deshaun Watson is back, the number of injuries on the offensive line makes it difficult to imagine the Cleveland offense producing anything substantial vs. Baltimore’s defense. The team that leads the league in sacks will force Watson into some questionable throws leading to three interceptions, two of which will be from Geno Stone. When the clock hits triple zeros, there will be no question as to which of these impressive defenses holds the claim as the best in the NFL. — Stephen Bopst
The Browns having Deshaun Watson back in the lineup at quarterback instead of rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson this time around does not make much of a difference as the Ravens’ defense churns out another dominant outing in which they hold Cleveland out of the endzone, sack Watson five times, and force two turnovers. The offense struggles a bit early on but the ground game takes over in the second half with Gus Edwards finding the endzone again and Keaton Mitchell having another big performance, leading to a comfortable victory for Baltimore. — Dustin Cox