Not this time, either

The Browns have played eight games this season. They have lost three. You can argue they should be 7-1 at this point, blowing opportunities to win two of them (Pittsburgh and Seattle) with huge blunders by an offense that has yet to hit its stride on a consistent basis.

The only game in which they were thoroughly outplayed and outcoached occurred in week four at home against division rival Baltimore, the Ravens taking advantage of three Cleveland turnovers for an easy 28-3 victory that became inevitable as early as the second quarter.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski was basically forced to start rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson in that one when starter Deshaun Watson, battling a bad throwing shoulder, bowed out after warming up and almost immediately pulled the plug on the start. 

An unfair fight broke out with the Browns ultimately generating just 166 yards of offense against a Ravens defense that wanted to prove it was better than Cleveland's, which started out strong but had problems as the game wore on with quarterback Lamar Jackson, who ran for two scores and hooked up with tight end Mark Andrews for two more.

The Cleveland run defense, which had surrendered just 156  yards in the first three games, was gashed for 165 by the Ravens. Jackson and company toyed with that defense in the first half. Jackson needed to throw just 19 passes, connecting on 15. 

Sunday afternoon in Baltimore, it will be another battle of wills between these two great defenses. This  time, Watson is still nursing the shoulder and chipping off rust after almost a month of inactivity, but throwing more freely.

The Cleveland defense, which seemingly has recovered from a temporary down period in totally shutting down Arizona last Sunday, is as healthy as it has been all season and in a revengeful mood. The offense not so much. In fact, the offensive line resembles a mini M*A*S*H unit.

How bad can that be? Here we are in week 10 of the season and Cleveland's offensive tackles Sunday will be Jerome Hudson III at left tackle and most likely Geron Christian at right tackle. 

Hudson, now in his third season, has been with the team all season but is not ready to be a starter or else he would have been by now. Christian, who has bounced around the NFL since 2018, was signed as a street free agent to the practice squad on Halloween and promoted to the main roster seven days later.

Jack Conklin, who started the season at right tackle, has been on injured reserve since the opening series of the season. Left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. had more staying power and lasted until the Arizona victory, sustaining a severe knee injury that landed him on IR. Rookie Dawand Jones, who replaced Conklin and played well, is out indefinitely with a knee and shoulder.

Also out are wide receivers David Bell and Marquise Goodwin, prompting the Browns to promote Austin Watkins Jr. -- the phenom during the exhibition season -- from the PS in the event Stefanski needs more bodies for heavy wide receivers packages.

His greatest concern, though, should be the security of his quarterback. He has to know the Ravens have a distinct advantage on defense in the trenches. Hudson's main weakness is pass protection. And Christian is the X factor. Guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller are much better in the run game than the passing game. 

Wondering if Stefanski has any plays with a moving pocket in his playbook because Watson will be on the move most of the day against a relentless Baltimore pass rush that has dropped opposing quarterbacks a league-leading 35 times. One of the best weapons against a strong pass rush is the screen pass, which worked nicely when P. J. Walker ran the offense. Watson is more inclined to run.

The Baltimore offense, which has averaged 32.5 points during their current four-game winning streak and  35 per in the last three, presents another tough challenge for the Cleveland defense.

Jackson is completing a career-high 71% of his passes with a receivers corps that might be his best with Andrews, rookie Zay Flowers, ex-Brown Odell Beckham Jr., who missed the first game, Rashod Bateman and Nelson Agholor.

On the ground, the Ravens have their own three-headed monster with Gus Johnson, Justice Hill and Jackson who shredded the Cleveland front seven in the first game. And rookie running back Keaton Mitchell burst onto the scene last Sunday against Seattle, ripping off 138 yards on only nine carries in garbage time.

The stingy Ravens defense, meanwhile, has given up only nine touchdowns this season. And only two touchdowns in four home games. No team has scored more than one TD against the Ravens in nine straight games. The big difference between these two defenses is one has not just a better offense, but a terrific offense.

There are a few pundits on the NFL landscape brave enough to pick the Browns to upset the Ravens, one reasoning they next play Thursday night at home against the hard-charging Cincinnati Bengals and might be looking past the Browns to that very important game.

Of course that's ridiculous. (Full disclosure: I actually contemplated picking an upset here. The loss of Wills and Jones sobered me up.) 

The Browns are too beat up on offense, and the defense will face a better and healthier Ravens team than in week four to even think they have a chance of improving to 6-3. The return of Watson will make little difference if at all. It will be closer, though, than the first game. The Ravens sweep the season series for the umpteenth time. Make it:

Ravens 27, Browns 3