By Joe Hunley--Cleveland Browns Report

The Baltimore Ravens at 10 wins and 4 losses are in a race for the AFC North division title with the Pittsburgh Steelers, also at 10 and 4. A Ravens victory in Cleveland will win Baltimore a playoff berth, not to mention extending their chances of taking the division title--given the Steelers falter against the Panthers and the Browns.

The meeting between these two teams earlier this year yielded the Ravens a victory, 24 to 17, over the Browns.

Offense:

Anquan Boldin scored three touchdowns on his way to catching eight passes for 142 yards for the Ravens. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco threw 22 completions for 262 yards, expect the Ravens to attempt to repeat this performance. Ray Rice has been playing well as of late, he surely will test the Browns running defense, which has performed poorly in the last few outings.

Peyton Hillis did gain 144 yards in 22 carries in the previous meeting. However I do not expect a great deal of production from Hillis in this meeting. Every defense the Browns have faced in recent games were aware that stopping Hillis is a major key to stoping the Browns. The Ravens not only know this, they also have the ability to stop Hillis--there are no other running-backs for Cleveland that could vaguely be considered a threat.

Colt McCoy, for a rookie quarterback, has shown a great deal of promise, both in ability and leadership. This will not amount to a great deal if the weather is less than ideal for the passing game, combine that with a running game that could very well be shut down by the Ravens, and the Browns offense will become very limited.

Defense:

The primary objective of the Ravens will be to shut down Hillis, forcing Colt McCoy to beat them in the passing game, which as stated is --weather permitting. The Browns coaches showed their ability to abandon the running game against the Bengals--14 rushes the entire game. They also showed their lack of a Hillis replacement--Hillis carried the ball all 14 times. The Ravens will focus on stopping Hillis--making the Browns offense one-dimentional (with a rookie quarterback).

The Browns have failed to stop opposing running-backs in the last few games, they must limit missed tackles, and force the Ravens into a passing offense--the secondary has been respectable.

Conclusion:

I see the Ravens shutting down Peyton Hillis, and forcing a passing offense to beat them threw the air. Given the Ravens running game, the time of possession will become a factor. The Ravens, mixing up their passing and running plays will give the Browns offense little time on the field. This will force the Browns into less desirable positions--trying to hurry-up and come from behind opens the door to turnovers--rookie quarterback with limited receivers at his disposal equals disaster.

Ravens 24
Browns 13