BEREA, Ohio — This might be the toughest test yet for the Browns in the 2024 season.
And with Cleveland at 1-6, that’s probably not a sentence any fan wants to read right now.
But as the Browns prepare to welcome the 5-2 Baltimore Ravens to town, they do so at a point of transition in their season with changes at quarterback and play-caller.
Here are several key storylines to know ahead of the game as well as predictions for how I think each will go:
Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston will start against the Ravens on Sunday afternoon.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
How will Jameis Winston and Ken Dorsey do?
Former No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston is taking over as starting QB with Deshaun Watson’s season over after rupturing his Achilles last week against the Bengals.
Winston will make his first start since Sept. 25, 2022, when he was with the Saints. In that game, his third start of the season, he went 25 of 41 for 353 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for a 76.6 rating. New Orleans lost 22-14.
“I view this as an opportunity to go out there and be my very best,” Winston said this week. “And when I’m my very best, I’m a great NFL starter.”
He’ll have a new play-caller in his ear in offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski turned over play-calling to Dorsey this week, saying it was his decision. The Browns are currently the 32nd-ranked offense in the NFL.
“Kevin’s got a great feel and pulse of this team from day one since he stepped in the building, I feel like,” Dorsey said. “I think it’s a lot of reflection, a lot of just evaluating where we’re at and I think it was a decision that just is made for right now.”
Prediction: If anything, Winston is a gunslinger. Expect him to take some deep shots, but without Amari Cooper, I still have concerns about this pass-catching corps. David Njoku and Jerry Jeudy will have to make some plays for him.
If Marlon Humphrey plays, expect at least one interception from the Ravens slot corner — he picked off Baker Mayfield twice last week, but has been battling a knee injury that he suffered in that 41-31 Baltimore win over the Buccaneers on Monday night.
Dorsey as a play-caller with this team is a bit of an unknown. So many of these concepts in this new-look offense were designed with Watson in mind. It won’t be a full picture with Winston running things.
On the flip side, play-calling would have been more of a known variable with Stefanski, who I would argue has been at his best calling more of a play-action, big-personnel offense for a pocket passer.
Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) is the NFL’s leading rusher. The Ravens take on the Browns on Sunday. AP
New Ravens’ addition Derrick Henry’s impact
In a division rivalry, the Browns and Ravens are two teams with a lot of familiarity.
But running back Derrick Henry joining the Ravens in the offseason has shaken things up.
Henry is the NFL’s leading rusher with 873 yards and eight touchdowns on 134 carries.
While Henry is off to a great start, it’s also worth noting that as a member of the Tennessee Titans, Henry played the Browns five previous times in his career, dating back to 2016. In an anomaly, He’s never wrecked a game against Cleveland.
In those five games he’s rushed for only 184 yards on 60 carries, with one TD in 2019. He also has an additional 115 yards and a touchdown on six catches. Last season, as the Browns topped the Titans 27-3, they held Henry to only 20 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Prediction: The Ravens will do what they’ve been doing and save Henry to do most of his damage in the second half.
The Browns defense has done some good things the last two weeks, but Henry feels overdue to have a stellar outing vs. Cleveland.
All it takes is one big run from him to demoralize a team in the second half, and I’m predicting he gets it, on the heels of his 81-yard third-quarter dash against Tampa Bay last week.
Can the Browns’ defensive leaders like Myles Garrett and Greg Newsome II rally this team against all odds against Baltimore? John Kuntz, cleveland.com
The overall vibes in Cleveland
It‘s been a weird seven days for the Browns, losing their starting QB, changing play-callers, and players feuding with fans for their reaction to Watson’s injury.
So what will the overall vibes be on Sunday? Will the Browns put up a fight? Or will the Ravens steamroll them in their home stadium?
Prediction: It‘s hard to be optimistic here. Being in Berea the previous three days, I haven’t gotten the fiery vibes that this is a team determined to pull an upset.
In order for upsets to be pulled off, even at the midway point through the NFL season, I think that X-factor has to be there. You can feel an upset brewing like a storm usually — and in Cleveland right now, everything feels too calm for this 1-6 team to pull it off.
The Ravens are too good and rolling along having won their last five games. The highest-scoring offense in the NFL, I think they win by multiple scores, 35-24.