Joe Flacco Struggles, Cleveland Browns Blown Out in Baltimore

Cleveland went on the road in Week 1 to face the Ravens on the celebration of their 30th anniversary since moving to Baltimore. Former Browns owner Art Modell was the catalyst for that move, leaving Cleveland without a football team for three seasons in the late 1990s.

Baltimore celebrated the anniversary of its team with the Browns in town, stoking the long-burning coals of the rivalry between the two cities. You would have thought the bad blood would have fueled a better Browns performance, but they were embarrassed in this one, falling to Baltimore 41-17.

The Good

If the Browns were a well-run organization, this defense would catapult them to the playoffs. Myles Garrett is somehow better than in years past, as he was creating havoc in the Ravens’ backfield all day.

Sticking with the defense, for the second week in a row, the linebackers showed up. They bottled up Derrick Henry all day long, holding him to 24 yards on 11 carries. Really, the whole defensive front was impressive. Lamar Jackson’s stat line was still excellent, but he never looked too comfortable. When you get blown out like this, the statement rings hollow, but the Browns’ defense held up far better against the Ravens than the Bills did last week.

There wasn’t much to like about the offense, but Quinshon Judkins was a nice addition to the run game. He didn’t get much help from the offensive line, but when he got the ball, he looked quick and decisive, hitting the hole with authority. It was an excellent outing for Judkins.

Lastly, Andre Szmyt didn’t miss a kick. That’s technically an improvement.

The Bad

Obviously, the Browns have struggled to move the ball this year, but punter Corey Bojorquez, who is dealing with a potential injury, will only make things worse. He has been great at flipping the field and letting the defense pin its ears back by the opponent’s own end zone. Hopefully, he’s good to go next week.

On offense, who can catch a ball for Cleveland on the outside?

Baltimore adjusted to Joe Flacco living in the flats last week by pressuring him all day and letting the Browns’ receivers try to win one-on-one matchups. Those receivers were dominated in those matchups.

Buffalo had a field day against this Baltimore secondary, but Cleveland’s wideouts looked like they had no business playing the same sport as the Ravens. Jerry Jeudy has to be better. He had two more drops, he struggled to get open and has overall been a massive liability. This offense lacks any sort of explosive options.

The Ugly

As a massive Joe Flacco fan, it pains me to say it, but I think we’ve seen enough. Last week, Flacco did everything the Browns asked of him and looked solid running the offense. This week was a tough watch. Father Time appeared to be on the field with Flacco, as he struggled with accuracy on any pass beyond the markers, stood like a statue in the pocket and made poor decisions.

It’s hard to pin it all on Flacco, as his offensive line looked just as old and lumbering as he did. He has no time to throw, nobody can catch the ball and nobody can get open. The thing is, we know what the ceiling is with Flacco. It’s time to see if the Browns have anything at all with Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders.

Gabriel looked great in his one touchdown drive, though the game was already over when he came in. Still, it was nice to see him excel when given the opportunity.

The only exceedingly rough part of the defense was Cameron Mitchell. No Martin Emerson and an in-game injury to Denzel Ward left the secondary paper thin. If Ward can’t go, this elite defense will be as unwatchable as the offense.

It doesn’t get any easier for Cleveland with Green Bay coming to town. The Packers have looked like the best team in the league through two weeks, so unless something drastically changes, the Browns might be looking at the ugly, the uglier and the ugliest next week.