As the Browns head into their Week 8 matchup against the 5-2 Ravens, they are preparing to face an MVP-caliber quarterback fresh off a five-touchdown performance on Monday Night Football against the Buccaneers.
Despite his two MVP seasons, Ravens QB Lamar Jackson is on track for the most passing yards and passing touchdowns in his career while still showing his elite ability to run the football.
"When we say there's another level, it's just like, alright, like we didn't know there was another level because he's been playing on such a great level and high level," LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah said when asked if Jackson has stepped his game up this season. "He's using his feet, he's doing miraculous plays, extending plays as all great quarterbacks do."
Jackson is in the top five with 1,810 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns and expected points added per dropback with +0.28, per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. He's been sacked just nine times and has five total turnovers through the season's first seven games.
Blitzing Jackson has historically been one way to counter his ability to get the ball downfield, as Jackson was a below-average quarterback against the blitz in terms of EPA per dropback from 2020 to 2023.
This year against the blitz, however, Jackson has the seventh-best passer rating with a 119.9, the seventh-best completion percentage at 70.4 percent and is tied for the second-highest EPA per dropback at +0.46. Between his two MVP seasons, Jackson had never held more than a 62.5 completion percentage against the blitz.
"He's gone from a run-first quarterback to a pass-first quarterback that can make plays with his feet," defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. "They've pretty much opened the whole passing game up to him and he can rely on that, but he also has those legs that he can make explosive plays."
Check out photos of the team working to prepare for their game this week against the Baltimore Ravens at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus
Quarterback Jameis Winston (5) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
Wide receiver Elijah Moore (8) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Running back Nick Chubb (24) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (17) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
Offensive guard Wyatt Teller (77) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
Wide receiver Jamari Thrash (80) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
Safety Rodney McLeod Jr. (12) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (94) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (3) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
Offensive guard Wyatt Teller (77) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (6) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Defensive end Myles Garrett (95) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Cornerbacks Coach Brandon Lynch during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (3) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Wide receiver Jamari Thrash (80) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
Head Coach Kevin Stefanski during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Offensive tackle Michael Dunn (68) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Quarterback Bailey Zappe (2) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
Wide receiver Elijah Moore (8) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
Wide receiver Elijah Moore (8) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Cornerback Cameron Mitchell (29) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Tight end Jordan Akins (88) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Offensive tackle Roy Mbaeteka (61) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
Quarterback Jameis Winston (5) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Quarterback Bailey Zappe (2) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (3) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
Linebacker Khaleke Hudson (39) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Offensive Coordinator Ken Dorsey during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Tight end Geoff Swaim (84) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
Offensive guard Wyatt Teller (77) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Head Coach Kevin Stefanski during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Wide receiver Cedric Tillman (19) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Offensive guard Joel Bitonio (75) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (3) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Offensive guard Wyatt Teller (77) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Quarterback Jameis Winston (5) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Offensive tackle Dawand Jones (79) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
Running back Gary Brightwell (35) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Linebacker Khaleke Hudson (39) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Quarterback Jameis Winston (5) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Defensive end Myles Garrett (95) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (6) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Quarterback Bailey Zappe (2) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Defensive Quality Control Coach Jeff Anderson during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Quarterback Bailey Zappe (2) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Defensive end Myles Garrett (95) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Defensive Line Coach Jacques Cesaire during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo (54) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Running back D'Onta Foreman (27) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Offensive Assistant/Run Game Specialist Nick Charlton during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (3) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
Senior Offensive Assistant Bill Musgrave during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Safety Trey Dean (28) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Head Coach Kevin Stefanski during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 23, 2024.
Center Cameron Tom (64) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
Running back Pierre Strong Jr. (20) during practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on October 24, 2024.
In addition to his passing ability, Jackson leads NFL quarterbacks in rushing yards with 455, adding two rushing scores. Only 49ers RB Jordan Mason has more rushes for 10 or more yards than Jackson's 18.
Another threat the Browns defense will have to contain is RB Derrick Henry, who the Ravens acquired over the offseason. Henry has led the NFL in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns twice in his nine seasons as a pro and is doing so this year with 873 rushing yards and eight rushing scores. Additionally, he sits just behind Jackson with 17 rushing attempts for 10 or more yards, the third-most in the NFL.
Standing at 6-foot-3, 247 pounds, Henry's size makes him difficult to bring down. Only Mason has more yards after first contact than Henry's 459.
"He certainly gives those guys a different dimension in the run game," Schwartz said. "And I would say it's because of all the big plays. It's not the three, four or five yarders, it's the 80 yarders."
Despite his size, Henry's speed is elite, with four rushes this season where he reached top speeds of over 20 miles per hour, the most in the NFL.
The Ravens' speed doesn't stop with Henry, as receivers Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman have both shown their ability to create separation this season. Flowers averages 4.2 yards of separation per target, tied for the second-best rate in the league, while Bateman is close behind, averaging 3.9 yards of separation per target.
Additionally, the Ravens' offensive weapons continue at the tight end position, with both Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely coming into form entering Week 8. Andrews, after failing to record a touchdown in his first five weeks, has scored twice between the Ravens' last two games. Likely was heavily involved in the Ravens' Week 1 passing attack, making nine receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown.
"[Henry's] got a good cast around him too," Schwartz said. "They make you defend so much in the run game, you just can't concentrate on taking a running back out. You have the quarterback keepers that you have to handle. You have the jet sweeps to Flowers that you have to handle, the jailbreak screens to Flowers and the other receivers. You have to defend all 11 on every single play, you just can't focus on one person."
