BOLD PREDICTIONS: Bringing Heat to Joe Cool

The (0-1) Ravens host the (0-1) Browns and Joe Flacco in an AFC North battle that marks Baltimore’s 2025 home opener and the official celebration of the team’s 30th season in Charm City. The Ravens are (20-9) all-time, in home openers, sporting a (13-3) mark under John Harbaugh. Against the Browns the Ravens are (37-15) all time including a (26-8) record on Harbaugh’s watch. Since 2008 the Ravens are (14-3) during home games against Cleveland.

Television: CBS / WJZ Ch. 13 (Baltimore)

On The Call: Tom McCarthy (PBP), Ross Tucker (analyst), Amanda Balionis (sideline)

Officiating Crew Chief: Brad Allen, Crew Chief

Forecast at Kickoff: Mostly Sunny, high of 86 degrees, winds SSE at 5 mph

Betting Line:

• DraftKings: Ravens – 11 ½, over/under at 44 ½ points
• Fanduel: Ravens – 11 ½, over/under at 45 ½ points
• Fanatics: Ravens -11 1/2, over/under 45
• ESPNBET: Ravens – 11 ½, over/under 44 ½
• Bet365: Ravens -11 1/2, over/under 45

Tony Lombardi

The Ravens are reeling after a crushing defeat in Buffalo last Sunday Night when they collectively played the role of philanthropist, giving the game away. This week they’ll battle a tough Browns defense that smells blood in the water. After watching the Ravens defense bleed, the Browns anemic offense has swagger. Imagine that! And who can blame them. The Ravens can’t generate a pass rush, and their secondary is about as in synch as a bunch of 5-year-olds playing pin the tail on the donkey. Will the Ravens look like donkeys in back-to-back weeks?

#Browns Grant Delpit says it’s ‘not hard’ to bring down #Ravens RB Derrick Henry, and Henry responds; Jerry Jeudy says ‘no challenges’ about the Ravens secondary. It’s game on between the old Browns and the new Browns: —> https://t.co/f5Yj3JPqWB

— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) September 11, 2025

• Lamar Jackson will throw for less than 200 yards. He’ll hit Mark Andrews for his only scoring strike of the day from 17 yards out.
• Derrick Henry will be the workhorse, this time he’ll carry the rock 24 times, but the sledding will be a little tougher than it was in Orchard Park. He will crack the century mark and hit paydirt once.
• Tyler Loop connects on 3 field goals, the longest coming from 48 yards out. He’ll be called on often when the Ravens struggle to convert in the red zone.
• On defense, the Ravens take down Joe Flacco 4 times, twice by Mike Green. Kyle Van Noy and Travis Jones get in on the fun too. Odafe Oweh unleashes his inner ghost and disappears again.
• Nate Wiggins gets a pick to even out the turnover battle.

Ravens 23, Browns 13

[Ravens v. Browns Preview]

Rob Shields

Last year, in this same spot, the Ravens lost to a bad Raiders team.  So, any fan that thinks this will definitely be a cake walk is wrong.

Last week, the Browns defense were hitting Burrow all day and they limited the Bengals offense to 7 yards in the second half.

Now, does that speak to the Browns defense or the Bengals offense, especially their run game and Oline?  I would say it’s a little of both.

On the offensive side, Joe Flacco can still sling it. They have some intriguing players in their back field and they have some WR/TE that can give you trouble.  David Njoku has been a thorn in the Ravens side for years.

Otoh, You should also be able to force turnovers in this game, something you didn’t do in Buffalo.

Cleveland should have won the game but there kicker missed a 36 yard FG and an extra point.

I tend to think the ravens will be able to put up points but it’s fair to wonder how the Oline will hold up.

Likely will be out again and it appears Ricard will also be out.  The TE were not part of the passing game the other night, so the team appears to be missing Likely but they also did score 40 and over 400 yards.

I think the Ravens win this game but it’s not as comfortable as it should be.  The Ravens should win this game 38-10 but i don’t think they do that.

Ravens 27 Browns 20

Kevin McNelis

(Insert deep sigh here) My head and my heart say two different things going into this one. My heart wants to believe that Baltimore, currently sitting at 11.5 point favorites going into their home opener, should come out and demolish this Browns team. Cleveland’s O-line performed very poorly against a questionable Bengals defense in Week 1, and so you hope that the Ravens pass rush finally gets it going and puts the ball back in the offense’s hands enough to cruise. My head, however, says that the opening game showed us too much of what we saw from the defense last season, where they gave up too much too easily, and there’s a part of me that sees Joe Flacco coming back to Baltimore and is a little worried, honestly.

— The Ravens will jump out to a quick 10-point lead and make it look like it’s going to be a smooth day at the office. They’ll cruise down the field on their opening drive with a nice mixture of run and pass plays, setting up a short completion to Rashod Bateman for a score, and on the ensuing drive, the Browns will miscommunicate and cough the ball up, spotting Baltimore three more.

— However, because this team absolutely cannot make it easy on themselves, they’ll be threatening a three-possession lead when they make some mistakes of their own. A pre-snap penalty backs them up in the red zone, and on the following play, they try to force a play that isn’t there and it leads to an interception.

— Flacco shows a glimpse of himself late in the game, and Jerry Jeudy backs up his trash talk with a long reception late to narrow the lead. Harold Fannin also stacks solid performances and comes down with at least five receptions as the defense continues to flounder late in games.

The Ravens will do enough to get their first one of the season, but this won’t be the “get right” game that we’re all hoping for.

Ravens 30 Browns 20

Chris Schisler

Logically, the Ravens are the easiest choice. I worry about a week 1 hangover. I worry about the defense that underperformed in Buffalo. But logically this is a Ravens win. I think the game could start slower than you’d like but the Ravens have a get right game. They’re just the better team.

Ravens 30 Browns 17

Chad Racine

Coming off of last week’s meltdown, I’m still irritated and am not feeling good about the defense. The Browns handed the Ravens a loss last year  when they had no business doing so. I’m not sure the Browns are equipped to come back from a two-score lead so hopefully the Ravens can get ahead big and early.

– Mark Andrews will have his first standout game this year with a touchdown, 80 yards and 5 receptions.

– Keaton Mitchell will be underutilized by being inactive because Harbaugh insists he gets better at special teams. #FreeKeatonMitchell

– Lamar will have another solid game throwing for over 200 yards and two touchdowns.

– DeAndre Hopkins will be the recipient of the other passing touchdown.

– Derrick Henry will have a rushing touchdown but held to just under 100 yards.

– The defense will just do enough to not blow the lead. No splash plays, no interceptions but maybe one sack.

Ravens 24 Browns 19

Nick Polinsky

The Ravens somehow lose these types of games. In 2023 they lost to the Colts at home in Week 3. In 2024 they lost to the Raiders in Week 2.

Joe Flacco returns to Baltimore for the first time, and though he’s at the end of his career, he still looks good. Neither of his two interceptions were truly his fault against the Bengals, and frankly they should have won that game. What we know from a decade’s worth of time in Baltimore is that Flacco doesn’t typically handle pressure very well. The key to controlling this game on the defensive side is to collapse the pocket and keep Flacco under duress. The Browns offensive line looks good on paper, but they had a rough going against the Bengals front.

I have no concerns whatsoever regarding Baltimore’s offense. I think the Ravens will score 30 once again. There are simply too many players you have to keep close eyes on and I don’t think the Browns will be able to handle it. The one exception would be if Myles Garrett truly wrecks the game. If the Ravens keep him under wraps, I think a big win will be in order.

— Derrick Henry once again runs for 125+ yards and a touchdown

— Mike Green records his first sack of his NFL career, one of five that the Ravens record on the day

— Malaki Starks records his first interception as a pro

— Mark Andrews has 11 touchdowns in 14 games against Cleveland. He’ll record his first touchdown of the season

I hope Flacco gets a really good tribute and reception, he deserves it.

Ravens 34 Browns 17

John Hughey

The Ravens are looking to avoid their first back-to-back 0-2 start to a season in franchise history, as the Browns come to town Sunday afternoon. Cleveland has given the Ravens plenty of bulletin board material, as the mouths have been running during the Browns media sessions. Safety Grant Delpit believes it’s “not hard” to tackle Henry, while wide receiver Jerry Jeudy thinks the Ravens secondary poses “no challenges.” The Ravens and Browns split both games last season, with the home teams each leaving with the win. With both teams entering Week 2 with a 0-1 start, neither squad can afford falling behind in what’s sure to be a cut-throat AFC playoff race.

— Derrick Henry makes Delpit eat his words, rushing for 125+ yards on the ground and 2 TDs

— Lamar Jackson gets some other targets involved this week, finding Bateman and Andrews for a combined 100 yards and a Bateman touchdown

— The defense bounces back and gives Flacco an unfortunate homecoming. The secondary gets their first two INTs of the season, while the pass rush records 3 sacks

— Baltimore silences the doubt for the week, putting the game away before the start of the 4th quarter.

Ravens 31 Browns 13

Jared Pinder

After last week’s embarrassment this game is a must win. Along with the fact that the Ravens, with the schedule coming up, can’t go 0-2 if they want to make noise in the playoffs due to the conference seeding, now it gets more personal as the Browns have been talking smack all week.

The game will probably be closer than it should, but with the bulletin board material given by the Browns this will give extra motivation.

— Lamar and the offense do their thing and crush the Browns defense.

— the defense has a bounce back game and takes advantage of a terrible OT tandem.

Ravens 40 Browns 21 

The post BOLD PREDICTIONS: Bringing Heat to Joe Cool appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/09/12/bold-predictions/browns-at-ravens-2025/