Browns vs. Ravens: Deshaun Watson's shoulder, dominant defense key to AFC North showdown
CLEVELAND — A much-needed early bye week awaits the Browns.
First thing's first, though: A critical early season AFC North showdown against the Baltimore Ravens with yet another injury question hanging over the team.
The Browns (2-1) seemed to be getting about as healthy as one could hope to be despite losing a multi-time Pro Bowl running back and a two-time All-Pro right tackle in the first two games of the season. However, on Wednesday the first red flags arose about a potential shoulder issue for quarterback Deshaun Watson stemming from a hit taken in last week's win over the Tennessee Titans.
That injury, believed to be a contusion, to Watson's right throwing shoulder limited him significantly in practice throughout the week. The Browns listed the quarterback as questionable on Friday, and he insisted he was OK and expected to play against the Ravens (2-1).
Rookie backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson took the No. 1 reps that Watson couldn't in practice this week. The fifth-round pick from UCLA would be making his first career start if Watson, who is coming off his best start with the Browns — 289 yards, 81.8% completion percentage, two touchdowns, 123.4 passer rating — can't go.
Until Watson gets on the field and shows the injury doesn't warrant concern, that question's going to linger over the Browns. That's even as his teammates dismiss the concern entering Sunday's game.
“We don’t live in uncertainty," All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett said Friday. "Whether he plays or doesn’t play, that’s not going to change our mentality going into the game. He’s going to make the best decision for himself as well as for this team on what he can put forth but, knowing him, he’s a baller. He's fought through a lot of things. We think he'll play, but if he doesn't we'll just have to up our intensity just one more notch."
If there's one thing that hasn't been a concern for the Browns, at least through three games, it's what Garrett and the defense have done. Even with the small sample size, what they have done in that span has been eye-popping in the level of dominance with which they've played.
The Browns rank No. 1 in the league multiple categories, including total defense (163.7 yards a game), points per game (10.7), passing yards (111.7) and third-down conversions (19.5%), while ranking second in run defense (52 yards per game). They're coming off a game in which they limited the Titans to just 94 yards, the lowest for that franchise since they were the Houston Oilers in 1972.
"Yeah, (defensive coordinator Jim) Schwartz, he's brought in a great system that I feel a lot of us, a lot of guys are flourishing in it, playing fast, physical out there and able to attack," Browns cornerback Denzel Ward said. "I mean, we're not where we want to be yet. I think we still got to build on the foundation that we set, but I think we're on a good track though."
Dominant defense has typically been the domain of the Ravens for the last quarter-century. However, three games in, their state can best be summed up by their team colors: black and blue.
Baltimore comes to Cleveland with a lengthy and star-studded injury list, including receivers Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle) and Rashod Bateman (hamstring), cornerback Marlon Humphrey (foot) and outside linebackers David Ojabo (ankle) and Odafe Oweh (ankle) all ruled out. All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley, who would be lined up opposite Garrett if healthy, is doubtful with a knee injury.
"They're dealing with a lot of injuries," Browns receiver Amari Cooper said. "It's something that happens in the league from time to time. It's a dangerous game. Guys get hurt. … Just got to go out there and play our game, go out there and execute our assignments and go 1-0 this week."
One Ravens player who isn't injured, after ending the last two seasons just that, is quarterback Lamar Jackson. No quarterback in the NFL presents quite the matchup issues that he does, as the only player in league history to throw for 10,000 yards and run for another 4,000 in his first five years of his career.
Jackson is 6-2 as a starter against the Browns, although he left a 2021 loss in Cleveland in the second quarter with what ended up a season-ending ankle injury. The dangerous Ravens quarterback is no secret to the Browns defense, only part of a bigger riddle they know they have to answer if they want to hit the bye week at 3-1.
"You’ve got to win," Browns linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. said. "That's what this NFL is about. Anytime you step on the field, you want to win. Our No. 1 goal every time we come into the building at the start of a new season is to win the division. Anytime you get a chance to play a division opponent — Baltimore this week — you want to take that next step. We want to show that.
"Again, we always want to prove ourselves right. Then prove to others. We want to prove ourselves that we are what we think we are as a defense, as a team, as an offense. We want to prove ourselves right, and anytime we have a chance to step on the field, we want to do that."
Individual matchup of the game: Cleveland Browns LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah vs. Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
It's almost like Owusu-Koramoah was drafted specifically for this matchup. The rangy, athletic linebacker has been one of the best on the Browns defense over the previous two seasons at defending against the elusive Ravens quarterback, in part because of that natural sideline-to-sideline ability he brings to the field. In his very first game against Jackson as a rookie in 2021, he had eight tackles of him, including half a sack, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit. Owusu-Koramoah, healthy after a foot injury ended his 2022 season in Week 14, has played outstanding football through the first three games. The Browns aren't going to completely stop Jackson from making some plays, especially considering the injuries the Ravens have on offense. Their ability to contain him starts with the third-year pro out of Notre Dame continuing to play at a high level against the 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player.
Position group matchup of the game: Cleveland Browns special teams vs. Baltimore Ravens special teams
This is all-encompassing because this is the phase of the game that could swing what feels like will be a tightly contested game. Everyone knows what Justin Tucker, the Ravens' future Hall of Fame kicker, can do when Baltimore gets on the Browns side of the 50. That doesn't really need further explanation. Dustin Hopkins doesn't have that range, but he just needs to continue to give the Browns what he's given them over the first three games, which is consistency when he's called upon to make kicks. The part of the special teams that may not get as much shine, at least in the build-up, is the punt units. Specifically, it's the Browns' ability to not allow the Ravens' dangerous Devin Duvernay from getting loose and flipping the field. Duvernay's 46-yard punt return in the Browns' Week 7 loss in Baltimore last season set up a field goal, which seems minor except for the fact the Ravens won the game by three points. The Browns are allowing opponents to average 10.2 yards on five punt returns this season. If Duvernay breaks free once, it could change the trajectory of the game.
Coaching matchup of the game: Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz vs. Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken
This is the main event, really. Schwartz's defense could solidify what it's done over the first three weeks of the season if it can go out and put the clamps on what is, with Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Burrow hobbled by the calf injury, the best heathy quarterback the Browns will see until the next time they face the Ravens. Monken comes back to the town where he spent one season in 2019 battling head coach Freddie Kitchens for control of the Browns offense. Now in control of Baltimore's offense, there's nothing more he would likely rather do than finally get that offense going — injuries and all — while knocking down his former employer's defense a peg or two in the process. Can Schwartz's damn-the-torpedoes approach do the job against the dangerous Jackson? Or does Monken find a way to exploit that aggression?
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Deshaun Watson's shoulder, swarming defense key to Browns-Ravens tilt
