Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens celebrates while rushing for a touchdown against the Washington Football Team. Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images/AFP
Monday’s clash marks the second meeting between the Ravens and Browns this season, after the AFC North rivals met in week 1 at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens took the first game convincingly, steamrolling the Browns 38-6. However, a lot has changed since that initial meeting that suggested both sides were very much the incarnation of their 2019 selves. Namely, the Ravens have taken a major step back while the Browns have made positive strides in the right direction.
It remains to be seen whether the Browns can keep up their positive run of form down the stretch in order to clinch a playoff spot for the first time in forever; or whether the Ravens can turn the tables in their favor and salvage their 2020 campaign. If the NFL odds were any indication, the balance tips towards the latter. The Ravens are laying -3.5 points after opening as the field goal road faves.
The total, meanwhile, opened on 47 points, but there’s a distinct trend developing betting trend that sees the number shrinking at various sports betting sites to anywhere between 45.5 and 46 points.
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Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland Browns
Monday, December 14, 2020 – 08:15 PM EST at FirstEnergy Stadium
AFC Playoff Hopes Hang in the Balance
Playoff hopes are riding on the outcome of Monday’s hyped up clash between the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, divisional rivals that came into the 2020 NFL season amidst high expectations. However, few would have predicted the team that’s desperate for the win this Monday would be the Ravens, who as things currently stand are sitting just outside of the playoff frame with a 7-5-0 SU mark. Indeed, if the playoffs were to start today, Lamar Jackson and Co. would be surfing the sofa, watching the playoffs like the rest of us on telly.
How quickly things change….
Only last season, the Ravens finished with a stellar 14-2-0 SU mark to clinch the No.1 seed in the AFC. On the strength of Baltimore’s standout 2019 record, spurred along by Lamar Jackson’s MVP-winning quarterbacking, expectations were high for the Ravens in 2020. The highest possible actually as preseason projections tipped the Ravens alongside the Kansas City Chiefs as the top best bets in Super Bowl LV betting.
Fast forward to this week, on the cusp of week 14, the path to the playoffs has narrowed considerably for Baltimore.
Ravens Push for Playoffs
Despite all the uncertainty surrounding a worrisome covid-19 outbreak within Baltimore’s ranks, Jim Harbaugh’s side came out guns blazing last week in a rare Tuesday showdown with the Dallas Cowboys. The Ravens were sharp from the start and raced to a quick lead, never looking back on route to a 34-17 win that saw Baltimore cover as the closing 8.5 point fave comfortably while the total cracked the 46-point closing total.
The passing game has been suspect this season, with Lamar Jackson struggling to really dominate opposing defenses through the air, but last week he had a quasi bounce-back performance at the expense of the hapless Dallas Cowboys. Jackson went 12 of 17 for 107 yards with two touchdowns and a pick that earned him a 78.7 QB rating, his best in the last five weeks. Jackson also picked up 94 yards rushing on 13 attempts, adding to his sides 294 rushing yards on 37 attempts for the night.
That said, not since week 1 against the Browns has Jackson cracked 250 passing yards and not since week 4 has he averaged eight yards per pass attempt. One has to consider that those numbers have to get better if the Ravens hope to make a reliable push in the postseason.
If there’s one thing that lifts Baltimore’s odds, it’s the strength (or lack thereof) of the NFL schedule down the stretch. The Ravens are deemed to have one of the easier schedules over the last four games.
The Ravens are 7-5-0 SU and 6-6-0 ATS this season, which includes a 7.1 winning margin on average and a plus 1.3-point differential versus the spread. The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Baltimore’s 12 games. The Ravens have scored 316 points and conceded 231 points through 12 games for a point differential of 85 points.
Browns Punching Above Their Weight-Class
Many were quick to write off the Browns following the humiliating defeat to the Ravens in week 1, but the Browns managed to turn things around relatively quickly by winning 9 of their ensuing 11 games thanks to a heavy reliance on the run game. The Browns sport one of the most potent running backs in the league in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, and the pair is largely credited with the Browns’ success. At the same time, Baker Mayfield has shown to be an able game manager doing just enough to contribute to his side’s stellar campaign thus far.
As it is, Kevin Stefanski’s side is sat pretty in second place in the AFC North and rolling behind a four-game winning streak into week 14. A run of form that was recently underscored by a gauntlet-throwing victory over the Tennessee Tians in week 13 that sent seismic shockwaves through NFL betting markets.
The Browns entered last week’s pivotal contest with the Titans as the significant road underdogs. However, they didn’t get the memo it seems, going on to deliver and illuminating 41-35 win over the Titans as the +4 closing road underdogs. The total, meanwhile, cracked the closing 54-point total.
Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns passes the ball to Kareem Hunt #27. Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images/AFP
To be fair, the win over the Titans marked Cleveland’s second credible victory on the season, after beating the Colts 37-34. The rest of their victories have come at the expense of lesser opponents – a fact that may be partly contributing to the less than favourable NFL odds that are currently trading for this week 14 NFL clash.
The Browns are 9-3-0 SU but 5-7-0 ATS with -1.2 losing margin on average and a minus 2.7-point differential versus the spread. The total has gone OVER in 7 of Cleveland’s 12 games.
Curiously, the point differential for Cleveland stands at -15 with 306 points scored to 321 points conceded. These numbers are heavily skewed by the loss to the Ravens in week 1 and a 36-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in week 6.
Marquise Brown of the Baltimore Ravens – Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images/AFP
Predictions and Picks:
Recent trends between these two rivals reveals a distinct trend towards the UNDER: 6 of the last 8 games have gone below the projected total number. This includes the first meeting in 2020 that went below the closing 47 point total.
On account of both teams’ penchant for the rushing game and solid defending, there’s good reason to expect this game to fall below the total that is currently trading across various sports betting sites. In fact, the bulk of the early bets coming down the wire according to SBR suggests the UNDER is the best bet for week 14 NFL picks.
And yet, despite the legitimate reasons mentioned above, along with the fact that the passing game with these two teams seems to be an afterthought in most cases, there is a scenario in which this total could go OVER. Consider the Ravens put up almost 40 points against Cleveland in week 1. Moreover, the Browns are coming off a right scoring fest in Tennessee that saw scoring come from all facets.
It may be a long shot bet – certainly one that goes against the grain – but the OVER leaps off the page as the choice NFL pick here.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
