Sunday is a chance for the Ravens and Browns to show which defense is the bully on the block.
Cleveland’s defense led by All-Pro edge rusher Myles Garrett is off to a phenomenal start, ranked No. 1 in the NFL in just about every major category, including yielding just 163.7 yards per game. To put that in perspective, the 49ers are ranked No. 2, and they’ve given up almost 90 more yards per game (253.0) than Cleveland has.
However, the Ravens aren’t ready to anoint Cleveland’s defense as the best. Not this early in the season. Not with Pro Bowl cornerback Marlon Humphrey (foot) yet to play, and star safety Marcus Williams (pectoral) having played just one game.
The Ravens are ranked 10th overall on defense, but All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith sounds ready to toss that ranking into Lake Erie on Sunday. Smith says the Ravens’ defense won’t take a back seat to anyone heading into this AFC North matchup.
“You’re not defined by being the best defense in the league [based] off of Week 4, period,” Smith said. “It’s a 17-game season, so it’s what you’re going to do late in the season.
“Hats off to those guys. I know they have some good players over there and whatnot, but I haven’t really watched them. I don’t really care too much if I’m being perfectly honest. I’m just more focused on our defense and what we’re going to do to make sure we come out victorious in this game.”
Trying to keep Garrett from wrecking the game defensively will be a top priority for the Ravens. He already has 4.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hits, and the Browns move him along the defensive front, making it more difficult for opponents to double-team or anticipate where he’ll rush from.
Garrett has 6.0 sacks in 10 career games against Baltimore, and the Ravens have won six of those matchups. But this is a new version of Cleveland’s defense under new coordinator Jim Schwartz. Garrett is thriving in it, with help from others like such as former Ravens edge rusher Za’Darius Smith, and defensive ends Ogbonnia Okoronkro and Alex Wright.
In victories over the Bengals and Titans, the Browns gave up just three points in each game and put relentless pressure on quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Ryan Tannehill, respectively. The Titans paid so much attention to trying to block Garrett in Week 3, they took a delay of game penalty when two tight ends kept switching sides, moving with Garrett whenever he moved.
