Can good defense stymie good offense?

A quick perusal of the statistics the Baltimore Ravens supply the media on a weekly basis renders one very important observation about the team the Browns meet Sunday.

The Cleveland defense, which has played relatively well since the season-opening loss to Tennessee, will be severely challenged because the Ravens have one hellacious offense.

While the Browns got all the hype during this offseason, the Ravens surreptitiously moved into the scoring realm of the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots.

Known much more for their defense over the years, that has changed dramatically with the arrival and swift maturation of quarterback Lamar Jackson, who entered the National Football League last season known more for his running than his ability to throw a football accurately.

The Browns, who were supposed to have that kind of explosive offense, have staggered and stumbled out of the starting gate. They look nothing like the team that stunned the NFL the second half last season.

The Ravens, meanwhile, do not have the usual intimidating defense, surrendering 20 points a game. No need to be concerned, though, because the offense picks them up big time with nearly 37 points a game. It is so good, Sam Koch has punted only seven times in three games.

The Browns got a rather unsavory taste of what awaits Sunday in the final regular-season game last season when Jackson accounted for 269 yards from scrimmage – the Cleveland defense had no clue how to stop the rookie – en route to clinching the AFC North title with a 26-24 victory.

This season’s Cleveland defense is significantly different with a rebuilt line, a different philosophy with new coordinator Steve Wilks and a secondary, when healthy, that features the kind of pass defenders who can shut down opposing wide receivers.

Problem is that secondary is still not completely healthy, having played the Los Angeles Rams game last Sunday night with all four starters on the sideline. Right now, subject to change, free safety Damarious Randall is the lone returnee.

The Baltimore offense presents problems due mainly to the philosophy of coordinator Greg Roman, who has magically turned Jackson into a 63% passer after a college career that saw him never crack 60%.

The John Carroll University graduate loves to run the football, too, to the point where the Ravens run the ball exactly 50% of the time, which makes defending against that offense, particularly the slippery Jackson, that much more difficult.

The Ravens also picked up Mark Ingram, the bowling ball running back who was forced to share running duties in New Orleans with Alvin Kamara, and turned him into what amounts to a full-time back. He has replied with five touchdowns and a six-yard-per-carry average.

Combine that with the running of Jackson – he says he hates to run – and backup Gus Edwards and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Wilks, who has used a 4-2-5 alignment most of the season, switch to a basic 4-3 front, adding a strongside linebacker to help against the run on certain downs.

The conundrum is how to defend Jackson, his newly found accuracy now a concern. Stack the box, dare him to throw – he averages 288 yards a game through the air – and risk getting trampled by his talented feet? Or respect his arm and get burned by a ground attack that averages 217 yards a game?

Jackson, who has yet to throw an interception this season, lists as his favorite targets a pair of Oklahoma University standouts, both of whom played with Baker Mayfield – tight end Mark Andrews for the short stuff and rookie speedster Marquise Brown for the deep stuff. Each owns a pair of touchdowns.

The Ravens’ defense lost linebacker C. J. Mosley and free safety Eric Weddle, their top two tacklers last season, and sack artists Terrell Suggs and Za’Darius Smith to free agency during the offseason. Earl Thomas III moved east after nine seasons in Seattle to replace Weddle.

The Ravens are not nearly as menacing as in the past and much more vulnerable through the air than on the ground, giving up 291 yards a game. The club’s first three opponents ran the ball only 48 times.

The porous secondary will be without veteran Jimmy Smith, probably their best cover corner, out with a knee, and possibly Marlon Humphrey, the other corner, questionable with a bad hip.

It will be interesting to see whether Freddie Kitchens takes advantage and turns Mayfield and his huffing and puffing passing offense loose or plays it closer to the vest and incorporates Nick Chubb and the ground game more into the game plan.

He said the club has had a good week of practice. Of course he did. Said it for three straight weeks and the Browns have only a 1-2 record to show for it.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh, meanwhile, is no doubt licking his chops awaiting the arrival of the Browns. Now in his 12th season with the Ravens, the older brother of University of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is 19-3 against them, 10-1 at home.

Since splitting the first four games of this series, the Browns have won only twice (both in overtime) in the last 18 seasons in Baltimore, the last in 2015 when Travis Coons floated a 32-yard wounded duck between the uprights to win, 33-30. That was the game quarterback Josh McCown set the club record with 457 passing yards.

This is one game where statistics are generally meaningless, the natural rivalry taking center stage, although some fans would argue it hasn’t been much of a rivalry over the years.

But one cannot dismiss the gaudy numbers the Ravens’ offense has produced. But, some would suggest, they have been compiled against weaker defensive teams than the Browns. All of which conjures up the notion that a good defensive team will more often than not knock off a good offensive team.

So are the Browns ripe for an upset? Is this the game where they snap out of their offensive funk? No, not this time, At least not in Baltimore. Maybe in the penultimate game of the season in late December back in Cleveland. Make it:

Ravens 31, Browns 17