When the Baltimore Ravens host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, the significance will transcend a battle between two of the AFC’s top teams. With each quarterback hit, every tackle for a loss, the Browns and Ravens will be making a statement that they have the best defense in the NFL.
Cleveland ranks first in yards allowed (234.8), the fewest given up in the league through nine weeks in 15 years. Baltimore tops the league in points allowed (13.8), which is the franchise’s lowest this far into a season since its 2000 Super Bowl-winning defense
“I talk with my pads, you know what I mean?,” said Ravens defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, who leads Baltimore with 7.5 sacks. “But I definitely have confidence on our side. Let’s just say that 100 percent.”
There’s reason for confidence on both sides, especially coming off decisive wins Sunday. The Browns recorded their first shutout since 2007 in beating the Arizona Cardinals 27-0 — a game in which the Cardinals gained 58 total yards — and the Ravens allowed their fewest yards in five years when they held the Seattle Seahawks to 151 in a 37-3 victory.
It’s rare to see two such dominating defenses on the same field this late into a season. Sunday’s matchup will mark the first meeting between two defenses allowing fewer than 275 yards per game in Week 10 or later since 2008, when the Ravens played the Steelers, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau.
“We say it all the time: We are the best in the world, as a defense and particularly as a secondary,” Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II said after beating the San Francisco 49ers last month.
The Ravens last boasted the NFL’s No. 1 defense in 2018, but the last time the Browns finished with the top-ranked defense was 1955. Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen has said since the start of the season that the whole focus of the defense has been finishing No. 1.
“Excuse my French, we’re a bunch of a–holes out there,” said Ravens safety Geno Stone, who leads the NFL in interceptions with six. “It is what it is, and we want to be the best defense we can be.”
ESPN Browns reporter Jake Trotter and Ravens reporter Jamison Hensley break down the matchup, and NFL analyst Aaron Schatz provides a historical perspective.
