Too much Jackson

It has become apparent in the last three seasons that the Browns have a difficult time hitting a moving target whenever they play the Baltimore Ravens. Most notably one Lamar Jackson.

The slithering Ravens quarterback absolutely loves playing the Browns because he knows he makes moves with his feet and plays with his improving throwing arm that practicality guarantee winning football games. Four of five since against them to be precise since turning pro.

In the next few weeks, Jackson gets two more cracks at improving that because of an oddity in the schedule that has the two teams meeting consecutively due to a week 13 bye separating the games for the Browns.

The first is Sunday night on national television in Baltimore with Jackson returning after missing last Sunday's come-from-behind victory over the Chicago Bears due to a mysterious illness. It lifted the injury-ravaged Ravens to 7-3 in the AFC North and makes the next two games must-wins for the 6-5 Browns if they still entertain postseason hopes.

Lose either one and the Browns can jump start plans for the 2022 season, mainly because they have fallen too far behind and have had problems catching up, due in large part to injury issues to key players.

Drawing Baltimore at this juncture of the schedule is a good litmus test to see just where this underachieving team is in terms of determining whether it is as good as many observers believed at the beginning of the season.

They catch a break with the return of offensive right tackle Jack Conklin and running back Kareem Hunt to revive an offense whose early bright glow has slowly and agonizingly dwindled to just a glimmer. The addition of Conklin and Hunt certainly can't hurt.

It's the defense, though, that has to come through for a change and at least neutralize Jackson. Middle linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. best summed up what he and his buddies need to do to make that happen. "All 11 guys have to be in the frame when the film stops," he said. 

The Baltimore attack, which is really massive doses of Jackson, can be stopped, or at least slowed down. The lowly Miami Dolphins proved that by holding the Ravens to only 10 points a few weeks ago with a barrage of blitzes in one of the season's biggest upsets.

Jackson's biggest weakness this season, it would appear, is beating the blitz. He has thrown only three touchdown passes against it and been picked off three times. Thirteen of his 28 sacks have come against maximum pressure from the back seven.

So that means Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods will throw the entire blitz playbook at Jackson the next two games, right? Uh, no. Not unless he undergoes a complete transformation from an ultra conservative approach to one antithetical to his passive philosophy. Don't see that happening.

Ideally, keeping Jackson pinned in the pocket and forcing him to throw, mostly before he wants to, is the best approach. He is not a great passer with only 14 scoring passes and eight interceptions this season. Don't see that happening, either.

Give him too much time, though, and he loves targeting tight end Mark Andrews, who has burned the Browns for 20 receptions, 260 yards and five touchdowns the last four games, and speedy wideout Marquise Brown, who has scored six TDs this season.

All of which means Browns fans will likely see more of Jackson dipping and darting and breaking tackles as he continues to almost single-handedly deconstruct the Cleveland defense. He is a true hybrid football player, excelling as much at running the ball as he does throwing it to receivers.

Is he a quatrterbnack who happens to be a better runner or a running back masquerading as a quarterback? Either way, his effectiveness is the main reason the Ravens sit atop the AFC North again.He does it with such ease, one wonders how he finds holes that aren't there when he escapes the pocket.

The Browns drafted athletic linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah ostensibly to spy Jackson and contain him, but the rookie spent time on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain before returning a couple of weeks ago. He hobbled off the field in the Browns' recent victory over Detroit after booking just 14 snaps, but did not appear on the injury report and should play. 

In five full games against Cleveland, Jackson has accumulated 1,525 yards from scrimmage (1,097 through the air, 428 on the ground) with 10 touchdown passes, just two picks and four more scores with his legs. He averages nearly seven yards a pop when he pulls the ball in and scampers.

Oh, and he is also the Ravens' leading runner by far this season with 639 yards and a pair of scores in nine games, mainly because the team lost all three of its running backs to injuries before the season started. That they're third in the league in rushing, just a few yards behind the Browns, is somewhat remarkable.

The stats also indicate the Ravens' defense is most vulnerable against the pass, belching 281 yards a game, one rung from the league bottom. That flies in the face of a Cleveland offense whose passing game has taken a per-game average nosedive to just 206 yards a game, a 15-yard difference from last season.

Baker Mayfield has been spotty now for at least a month when dropping back to throw. His multitude of injuries have piled up and turned him into a marginal threat at best. He's not throwing nearly as well as he has in the past. His biggest job now is trying to avoid a season-ending injury. 

He's like Jackson in one regard. As Jackson goes, so go the Ravens. And right now, that's first place in the division. As Baker goes, so go the Browns. And right now, that's the cellar of the division, albeit one notch above mediocrity at 6-5.

The Ravens can afford a loss in this one. The Browns cannot. Or the next one for that matter. The return of Hunt and Conklin will make somewhat of a difference. But the Browns have been ineffective for so long, it will not make a difference for teams headed in opposite directions. Jackson stars again. Make it: 

Ravens 32, Browns 17