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3 burning questions for Cleveland Browns to answer against Baltimore Ravens
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- 3 burning questions for Cleveland Browns to answer against Baltimore Ravens
BEREA — The Browns take on the old Browns this Sunday. The old Browns, better known as the Baltimore Ravens , have been almost everything the current Browns wish they were this season.
The Ravens are 5-2 and on a five-game win streak. The Browns, the ones that exist in Cleveland now, are 1-6 and on a five-game losing streak .
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Baltimore boasts a dynamic offense led by Lamar Jackson , one of the game's best quarterbacks , and Derrick Henry , a former All-Pro running back whose career was left for dead. Cleveland has an offense that's arguably the league's worst, having lost Deshaun Watson , its struggling starting quarterback , to an Achilles tear last Sunday, the same day it got back Nick Chubb , its former Pro Bowl running back , from a knee injury.
It's the best in the AFC North against the bottom of the AFC North. Here's, though, are three questions that look at ways the script could get flipped on Sunday.
What does a Cleveland Browns offense called by Ken Dorsey look like?
The decision to go to Jameis Winston to replace the injured Watson wasn't the shocking announcement this week from Browns coach Kevin Stefanski. The former No. 1 overall pick probably gives the team its best chance to win, at least with this iteration of the offense.
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The shocking announcement was that Stefanski was ceding play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, and not just against the Ravens but for the remainder of the season.
Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey during a news conference Aug. 5 at the Browns training facility in Berea.
There has been a portion of the fanbase, and even those outside of the fanbase, who have questioned how much Stefanski may have been handcuffing Watson, when he was healthy, and the offense based on a dedication to "his style" of offense. Certainly there's evidence from the last three seasons that the play-caller and the quarterback didn't exactly seem to work from a stylistic way.
The irony, though, is that Watson won't be around to prove those people's hypothesis correct. However, even with Winston now at the controls and wide receiver Amari Cooper now with Dorsey's former team, the Buffalo Bills , the fascination will be in the immediate changes that are noticed against a Ravens defense that isn't its typical top-of-the-league version of itself.
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Maybe, just maybe, it will provide ammunition for those who have argued that Dorsey should be the one to call what was allegedly at least partly his own offense. Or maybe it will just be more of the same.
Or, maybe it'll fall to the next question.
Can Jameis Winston provide a spark with Deshaun Watson out for the season?
It's been more than two years since Winston actually started a game. However, the confidence and gunslinger mentality that defined him through his days as the face of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and as, mostly, the backup for the New Orleans Saints still exists.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (5) throws on the run against the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 20 in Cleveland.
Two of the biggest criticisms of Watson when he was healthy this season were his lack of decisiveness and holding onto the ball too long. There's no doubt those won't be issues for Winston, as he showed when he came into last Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals and slung it around the yard to help the Browns score a late touchdown to at least give them a faint chance at a comeback.
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What can Winston do with a full week's worth of preparation and, more importantly, practice reps with the No. 1 offense? What can he do with a game plan molded to him and called by Dorsey?
Much in the way there were many calling for Dorsey to call plays, there were many calling for Winston to be the quarterback, even with a healthy Watson. This is their moment.
Can the Cleveland Browns defense slow down the Baltimore Ravens, specifically Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry ?
What happens when you put one of the most dynamic quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen with one of the league's best running backs with woodpile-sized chip on his shoulder? You get the frightening machine that is the Ravens offense this season.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) hands off to running back Derrick Henry against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 22 in Arlington, Texas.
The fact that Jackson, fresh off his second Most Valuable Player award, has continued to take steps forward in his all-around game is not shocking at all. He continues to shut up those who doubted his ability to be an elite passer with a league-leading 118.0 passer rating to go with 1,810 yards, 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions, along with 455 rushing yards and two scores.
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Henry was thought to have crested the hill of his career and begun the inevitable decline when the Tennessee Titans allowed him to walk, right into the welcoming arms of the Ravens. The move has been nothing short of revitalizing for him, with 873 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns while averaging 6.5 yards per carry, all of which lead the NFL.
That combination has allowed Baltimore to average 210.9 rushing yards and 461.4 total yards, both league highs. The Ravens can become the first team since the 1960 Green Bay Packers to run for at least 150 yards in their first eight games if they top that mark against Cleveland.
The Browns, despite the loss, showed positive signs on defense last Sunday. They're 15th against the run (126.1 yards a game) and 11th against the pass (191.7) and are going to need to be even better if they're going to slow down the ravenous Ravens offense.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns' 3 big questions heading into game vs. Baltimore Ravens
