As far as Cleveland Browns safety Grant Delpit is concerned, the verdict on the NFL’s best defense is already in.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com asked the defensive back on Thursday, November 9, if the Browns or the Baltimore Ravens — their opponent on Sunday — have the superior defensive unit.
“I believe that we the best defense in the league,” Delpit said. “So, we gotta go out there and show it at the end of the day.”
Browns, Ravens Both Have Arguments as NFL’s Top Defense
GettyCleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.
The statistics through nine weeks show the Browns and the Ravens in a tight race across most defensive categories.
Cleveland leads the NFL in yards surrendered, allowing just 234.8 per game, according to The Football Database. Baltimore is second at 262.6 yards per contest. However, the Ravens are first at 13.8 points allowed per game, while the Browns are third at 17.4. The two teams are tied for ninth-place in takeaways with 13.
The Ravens won the head-to-head battle in Week 4, routing the Browns in Cleveland by a score of 28-3. That sample is skewed, however, by the absence of Deshaun Watson who injured the rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder the week before against the Tennessee Titans.
Baltimore’s defense picked off quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson three times in that contest and effectively ended his on-field career — at least, it would appear, for the remainder of his rookie season. Watson has missed considerable time since, and the Browns have chosen to go with former third-string quarterback P.J. Walker in all of those instances, despite Walker producing a TD-to-INT ratio of 1-to-5 across three games played.
Browns Offense Must do More for Defense Against Ravens
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.
That statistic segues perfectly into the second portion of the argument — what each team’s offense has been able to produce this season and how that impacts the overall productivity of the defense.
Baltimore has an MVP-caliber quarterback under center in Lamar Jackson and is throttling teams to the tune of 26.6 points per game, which ranks them sixth in the NFL. The Ravens are also sixth in total offense with 369.0 yards per outing. The Browns, on the other hand, have been middling. The team is 14th in scoring at 22.6 points and 18th in total offense with 328.2 yards per game.
In other words, the Ravens have made life a lot easier on their defense through nine games than the Browns have through eight.
Cleveland’s offense hasn’t been great even with Watson in the lineup, but the team will have the best quarterback on its roster under center Sunday in Baltimore, which is more than nothing.
The Browns have also been able to find a groove in the running game, splitting duties between second-year back Jerome Ford and veteran Kareem Hunt. Cleveland is third in the league in rushing output at 144.1 yards per contest and has a roadmap to success against the Ravens because of that.
If the Browns can control the clock on offense and slow down Jackson on defense behind Defensive Player of the Year candidate Myles Garrett, there is a path for Cleveland to 6-3. If not, Baltimore will move to 8-2 and separate itself further from the rest of what has become the best division in football.
Browns’ Grant Delpit Sends Definitive Message to Ravens Defense