Cleveland Browns (0-1) @ Baltimore Ravens (0-1)
Sunday, September 14, 1:00 PM ET
If you’re in a survivor pool, you might have your gimme of the week here in this Week 2 matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns.
With all due respect to the Browns, the Ravens losing this game would only be the result of them being -5 in the turnover battle or something egregious like that. The Ravens are whopping 11.5-point favorites for this game, and it’s not hard to see why.
After taking a double-digit lead late into the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills, the Ravens blew it and are sitting at a disappointing 0-1 just like they were this time a year ago. Even with Baltimore struggling at the start of last season as well, they’re getting a bit of a gimme on the schedule here with the Browns coming to their house for their home opener.
Cleveland, to its credit, was locked in a tough battle with the Bengals last week. They limited Ja’Marr Chase, they limited Joe Burrow, and they limited the Bengals’ offense. We’d be remiss if we didn’t at least acknowledge that, but there’s also no question that the Ravens are a different level of beast compared to the Bengals right now.
And coming off of a devastating loss like that, Baltimore is going to have a major chip on its shoulder. Baltimore is the early biggest favorite of the week, and for good reason. Before the late collapse against Buffalo, it looked like Baltimore was going to coast to a 10-point win and put up 40 points on one of the best all-around teams in the league with the reigning MVP leading their offense.
I’m expecting the Ravens to bounce back big in Week 2, but weirder things have happened.
Prediction: Ravens win 37-17