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Ravens-Browns: What we learned

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CLEVELAND — Jimmy Haslam owns the Clevelan Browns, but whenever they play the Baltimore Ravens they belong to Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.

Flacco raised his personal record against the Browns to 12-1 when Justin Tucker kicked a 32-yard field goal on the final play to carry the Ravens to a 23-21 victory on Sunday in FirstEnergy Stadium.

The Ravens are 2-1, while the Browns fell to 1-2.

The Ravens started the winning drive at midfield with 1:58 left after forcing the Browns to punt. The key play on the game-winning drive was a 32-yard completion from Flacco to wide receiver Steve Smith.

“One of the coolest things is how calm Joe is,” Smith said. “We call him ‘Joe Cool.’ Throughout the whole game, good or bad, Joe stays the same.”

The Browns made too many mistakes to beat the Ravens. They were penalized for 12 men on the field twice on defense.

Browns kicker Billy Cundiff missed a 50-yard field goal and a 36-yard try was blocked in the fourth quarter.

What the Ravens said:

“You’re only as good as the last time you did it, but we know this defense is capable of making plays and winning the game.” – Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs.

What the Browns said:

“When it comes down to it, we made a lot of plays but we didn’t make them when we really needed to.” — Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer

What we learned about the Ravens.

1. The Ravens are resilient. They are 2-0 after releasing Ray Rice. They have faced a firestorm since the video showing Rice knocking out his then-fiancee with a left hook was made public, but the players shut out the distractions to beat the Steelers and Browns.

2. Wide receiver Steve Smith is a clutch player. He had 13 catches in the first two games and had a team-high five receptions Sunday for a game-high 101 yards. His 32-yard reception set up the game-winning field goal by Justin Tucker.

–RB Lorenzo Taliaferro rushed for a game-high 91 yards and a touchdown for the Ravens. The Ravens drafted him in the fourth round. His learning curve was accelerated when Ray Rice was released.

–QB Joe Flacco did not have to be spectacular to go 12-1 lifetime against the Browns. He was 19-for-31 for 217 yards and survived a fourth-quarter interception. His only loss to Cleveland occurred on Nov. 3 last year.

–LB Terrell Suggs has 15 sacks against the Browns — the most of any team. He did not sack Brian Hoyer on Sunday but he made his presence felt with two tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He finished with three tackles

What we learned about the Browns:

1. The Browns better get their run defense in order. They were gashed for 160 yards on 33 carries, a 4.8 average, by the Ravens. Through three games, opponents are averaging 5.2 yards a carry.

2. It looks as if the Browns will live on the edge all season. Each of their three games has been decided by a field goal at the end. The Steelers beat them on the final play in the opener, Billy Cundiff kicked a winning field goal against the Saints with three seconds left and Justin Tucker beat them on the final play Sunday.

–QB Brian Hoyer threw 25 passes and no interceptions on Sunday. His streak without being picked is at 156, the fourth highest in franchise history. He completed 19 of 25 passes for 290 yards, but only completed two of his last six passes.

–K Billy Cundiff continues to struggle on long kicks. His 50-yard attempt clanked off the left upright. He has now make seven of 25 field goals from 50 yards and beyond in his career.

— WR Andrew Hawkins continues to pay dividends as a free-agent signing. He caught seven passes for 87 yards to increase his team lead to 21, but he could not come up with a catch that was slightly behind him with 2:05 left.

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Source: Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk

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