Jarvis Landry grabbed eight passes for 167 yards, while tight end replacement Ricky Seals-Jones caught three for 82 yards including the only touchdown passing for Baker Mayfield.
The Browns improve to 2-2 with the win and join the Ravens at the top of the AFC North.
Cleveland will travel to San Francisco next Monday to meet the undefeated 49ers.
Brownie Bits
1) It's not an exaggeration to state that this win could have meant the season and here's why.
Had the Browns lost this game, they would have been a full two games behind Baltimore (3-1 to 1-3)
and with the schedule not getting any weaker over the next three games ( at San Francisco, Seattle at home and after an off week, at New England), it's not a stretch to say that by the time the schedule became a little more palatable, the Browns could have been unofficially out of contention depending on how the Ravens were playing.
2) And who would get the game ball for this victory? It has to be Nick Chubb, who when he ran for the 88-yard score broke the back of the Ravens, who had just scored a touchdown and slammed in a two-point conversion to trim the Browns lead to six.
It was even more than that for Chubb, who ran over Baltimore all day and generally left them almost helpless against the Browns running attack
3) Baker Mayfield had plenty to say this week to various media and I think Baker is far too thin-skinned about some of this stuff.
After all, Rex Ryan is just one of a thousand guys on ESPN and who cares what Antonio Brown has to say while he does whatever at Eastern Michigan University?
However, these small things seem to motivate Mayfield and whatever helps him perform better is fine with me, even if I don't especially always see the point.
4) As for Baker on the field?
342 yards with one touchdown and interception was pretty strong numbers and I did like that Mayfield began to look similar to last year's Mayfield in getting the ball out quicker and allowing his receivers to do the work rather than holding the ball and waiting for the receiver to find their way, which often makes the offensive line have a much more difficult time in protection.
Mayfield's at his best when he adds a little movement (he's more quick than fast) and shoots the ball out quickly and against Baltimore, he did a much better job at releasing quickly.
5) Odell Beckham may not have had a great game on the stat sheet with only two catches for twenty yards, but as great players usually do- Beckham's presence opened the field for another player to have a huge game and against Baltimore, it was Beckham's buddy Jarvis Landry, who caught eight passes for over 165 yards and a 65 yard gain that would have been a touchdown had Landry been able to regain his stride after breaking a Baltimore tackle.
Landry finished with more yards against Baltimore than the combined previous three games before leaving the game with a concussion and showed that besides Odell Beckham, there will be players that thrive from week to week depending on how the opposition plans to cover Beckham.
6) Ricky Seals-Jones was a waiver claim from the final cut from training camp from the Cardinals and so many of those players turn out to be nothing special, but I have a strange feeling about Seals-Jones.
As in he might be one of those discoveries that break out and become a very helpful player.
Seals-Jones had a 59-yard reception and a short touchdown grab and showed the type of hands that might find him a job even after David Njoku would return.
At 6'5 and 245 pounds and with athletic ability as well, Seals-Jones might be a steal.
7) Freddie Kitchens must have heard the rumblings of media and fans about his predictable play calls against the Rams because he broke out of the chains and tried some different things.
Notably, the call was the reverse that led to Odell Beckham throwing an option pass far down that Damion Ratley should have hauled in despite pass interference that should have been called, but was not.
Those types of calls won't always work, but the threat of them always is positive by making defenses plan before the game and scramble on it.
8) As for Damion Ratley, he made a catch early in the game for ten yards, jumped up and shook his booty as if he had won the conference title.
Ratley would follow up his catch with a fifteen-yard penalty for an illegal block and then having the long toss from Odell Beckham go literally between his hands.
Ratley did have to leap into the air, but it went right between his hands!
Why does it always seem like a guy screws up for much of a game after an unnecessary celebration?
It will be interesting to see who may be out their way out this week with Antonio Callaway returning from his suspension and the possibility of Rashard Higgins returning as well.
9) Jermaine Whitehead has been a player that the Browns have been high on since claiming him off waivers last season from the Packers, but his production hasn't been anything noteworthy until yesterday in his second start in place of Morgan Burnett at safety.
Whitehead stripped Mark Ingram of the football in the third quarter, intercepted Lamar Jackson in the fourth quarter and then on the following drive, Whitehead's blitz hit Lamar Jackson's arm and sent the ball lazily floating to the arms of defensive tackle Devaroe Lawrence.
Whitehead was directly involved in three turnovers in the second half.
10) Joe Schobert had a huge game with nine solo tackles, seven assisted tackles and a late-game sack of Lamar Jackson where he established his dominance with authority not by wrapping Jackson up, but by flinging him to the grass like a used rag.
I've sometimes been critical of Schobert and the injured Christian Kirksey for not making enough plays and accumulating tackles downfield, but his effort against Baltimore showed that he is capable of making those plays.
11) I thought the Ravens and the "new" Lamar Jackson were a little overrated after three games against three of the worst ten defenses in the league, but the Browns still did a nice job in keeping Jackson from doing much of what he does best- move around and make huge plays.
Jackson did throw for all three of the Baltimore touchdowns, but he was intercepted twice and forced to fumble once, although Baltimore recovered the fumble and Cleveland kept Jackson from making the big play as other than the 50-yard touchdown to Willie Snead in garbage time, the Ravens longest play was one Jackson scramble for 29 yards.
12) I mentioned Jermaine Whitehead earlier, but the Browns once again were missing starting cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Greedy Williams, but both T.J. Carrie and Terrence Mitchell played very well in their starts and had the Willie Snead play not occurred, the Browns would have held Baltimore under 200 yards passing.
13) Big win, but the schedule as noted above doesn't get easier.
I like the Browns chances more than some in San Francisco on Monday night against the undefeated 49ers.
San Francisco is 3-0 (coming off a bye week), but two of those wins were against winless Cincinnati and Pittsburgh (The other against 2-2 Tampa Bay) and the following week against 3-1 Seattle is also winnable as all three of their wins were over winless Cincinnati, winless Pittsburgh (They play tonight, so one will be winless no more) and winless Arizona (0-3-1).
I'm not saying those teams are bad, but I'd like to see either beat someone with a pulse as the only team between those two with a winning record in 3-1 New Orleans beat the Seahawks in Seattle with Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback and scored 33 points on the Seahawks.
That would be a so what until you remember the same Bridgewater-led Saints scored just 12 the following week at home last night against Dallas.
Yes, New England in Foxboro is going to be very difficult to conclude October and only the most devout Browns homer would pick the Browns in that one unless Tom Brady gets injured before then, but I think a 2-1 October is a realistic hope.
Give me that and I'll take it.
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