CLEVELAND -- The Baltimore Ravens proved to be as opportunistic as advertised in their battle of AFC North Division teams against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Entering the game as the league’s top-ranked defense as it pertains to forced turnovers, the Ravens collected two fumble recoveries and two interceptions of Browns rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer on the way to a 27-10 victory.
Ravens (8-6) quarterback Joe Flacco completed 26 of his 42 attempts for 288 yards and one touchdown without a turnover, and rushed for another score early in the second quarter of play.
Conversely, Kizer completed just 20 of his 37 throws for 146 yards with no touchdowns and the two interceptions.
With the setback to the Ravens, the Browns dropped to 0-14 for the second consecutive year, and their 14th consecutive loss of the season dropped the organization to a league-worst 1-29 since the opening game of 2016.
The Browns have not won on a Sunday afternoon since December 13, 2015. The 31 straight Sunday losses are an NFL record, and their 4-47 mark in the last 51 outings is the worst in the league in that four-year span.
Already this season, the Browns set the record for the worst 28-game stretch in NFL history, as they bested the previous mark of 2-26 from the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 1976-1977 seasons with a 1-27 mark that has gotten two losses worse since Week 13.
Trailing 7-3, after the Browns’ first scoring drive of the game, the Ravens had an answer, and it came in the form of an 11-play, 75-yard possession that Flacco capped off with a two-yard touchdown run with 3:01 to play in the first half.
Flacco’s first rushing touchdown of the season, and the ensuing extra point, gave the Ravens a 10-7 lead over the Browns.
On third-and-goal from the Browns’ two-yard line, Flacco took the shotgun snap, quickly went through his progressions, pulled down the ball and sprinted untouched into the end zone for the score, Baltimore’s 13th rushing touchdown of the season.
Earlier in the drive, Flacco completed a pair of long passes that flipped the field position.
On first-and-10 from Baltimore’s 25-yard line after a touchback on a kickoff, Flacco found wide receiver Mike Wallace down the left sideline for a gain of 30 yards. Despite tight coverage from cornerback Jason McCourty, Wallace was able to corral the pass with his left hand and hang on as he fell to the ground.
Then, four plays later, Flacco completed a 14-yard pass to tight end Benjamin Watson, which moved the ball down to Cleveland’s 18-yard line.
The Ravens converted a Browns turnover into a touchdown, and they needed just three plays to do so.
Watson caught a pass from Flacco between the hash marks, turned up the field, sprinted toward the pylon and dove into the end zone for his team-leading fourth receiving touchdown of the season.
The ensuing point-after-touchdown gave the Ravens a 17-7 lead with 59 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Ravens’ third scoring drive of the first half came after a Browns turnover.
On third-and-22 from the Cleveland 32-yard line, quarterback DeShone Kizer completed a pass to running back Duke Johnson on the right side of the formation. After a nine-yard gain, Johnson was stripped of the football by safety Tony Jefferson.
Hybrid defensive back/linebacker Anthony Levine Sr. recovered the ball at Cleveland’s 45-yard line.
Midway through the third quarter, the Ravens had the Browns backed up deep in their own territory after a punt, and the league’s most opportunistic defense as it relates to creating turnovers got to Kizer.
Kizer took the shotgun snap on first-and-10 from his own four-yard line and looked to the right of the formation. Kizer held onto the ball long enough for Ravens rush defensive end Za’Darius Smith to get the strip sack and force a fumble.
Defensive tackle Brandon Williams recovered the ball at the one-yard line. Before guard Kevin Zeitler could get him down by contact, Williams scooted the ball across the goal line for the touchdown, Baltimore’s fourth defensive score of the season.
