The Baltimore Ravens lost yet another key starter in Marlon Humphrey this week. At this point, their list of injuries is almost hard to believe. They face the Cleveland Browns for the second time in as many weeks, who are coming off a bye week and looking for sweet revenge. Let’s take a look at the Ravens vs. Browns Week 14 matchup, the NFL odds, and make a pick and prediction.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland Browns pick, prediction | Week 14
- Spread: Browns -2.5 (Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook)
- Moneyline: Browns -140, Ravens +120
- Over/Under: 42.5
You can’t help but feel for Baltimore at this stage, with Humphrey being the latest name to join an injury list almost longer than the active players for the Ravens. The Ravens struggled offensively on Sunday and have now failed to score 20 points in their last four games. Although they beat the Browns just the week before last, they’re running out of steam, and this team is clinging onto the top spot in the division for dear life.
[bet-promo id=”174860″ ]Lamar Jackson doesn’t have the space or time to play effectively the way he can. With pockets collapsing and the edge not being sealed off, he just has nowhere to go a lot of the time. All of that makes for uncomfortable viewing when the Ravens offense is out there.
The defense has held teams off and helped them notch a couple of wins in recent weeks, but losing Humphrey to a torn pec and now having him out for the rest of the season is just another blow. I don’t know how much more the Ravens can take. Frankly, I saw the 2-point attempt against the Steelers as an act of awareness from John Harbaugh that they needed to steal the game.
The Browns can set themselves up nicely with a win over the Ravens
The Browns have an opportunity to not only level the head-to-head record with the Ravens but to bring themselves within one game of them too.
With the Bengals losing and the Steelers beating the Ravens while the Browns were on their bye week, there are now only two games between the top and bottom spots in the AFC North.
Cleveland is facing a few complicated injuries of their own, with right tackle Jack Conklin headed to the IR after only just returning. But the defense is healthy, and this is not a good time for Baltimore to go up against Cleveland’s best 11. With Myles Garrett, rookie Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and Mack Wilson at linebacker all playing some great football, a weak Ravens offensive line is far from ideal.
This is a Browns defense capable of some serious disruption against opposing game plans. I’d expect the Browns to have several opportunities to put this one away.
Betting Trends
With the offense wilting, the Ravens have not hit the under in their last four contests. As I said, they’ve failed to score 20 points in all of those games, but can the defense continue to hold the opposition to the same low totals? Baltimore is 5-7 on over/unders and against the spread for the season.
The Browns have scored 30 points in their last three games combined. That’ll be a contributing factor to the low over/under on this game at 42.5, with the expectation that this will be a defensively dominated matchup. Cleveland is on a three-game losing streak against the spread and is 5-7 in that category on the year. The Browns are 6-6 on over/unders.
Ravens vs. Browns prediction
I just cannot see Baltimore protecting Jackson very well at all in this game. Cleveland will know that’s their weakness, and Garrett has 16 sacks this season. With the threat of Jadeveon Clowney and the speed and versatility that JOK offers, it’s difficult to cover all bases, let alone trying to do so with a patchwork offensive line. The Browns’ defense will be the difference in this one, and I like them to win and cover against a Ravens team headed for a rough end to the season.
Ravens vs. Browns Prediction: Browns 28, Ravens 10