First-place Ravens guarding against a Browns letdown

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Because they played on Thanksgiving, the Baltimore Ravens enjoyed a long holiday weekend and got to rest last Sunday.

They can’t afford to take another one off.

Baltimore’s three losses this season have followed the same pattern. All of them have come on the road, all of them have come against a weaker opponent and all of them have come the week after an impressive win.

So don’t think for a second that a trip to Cleveland has the Ravens (8-3) feeling overconfident. They know the Browns (4-7) are always ready to brawl.

“If you were a fighter, this is the fighter you avoid at all costs because he is always going to fight you hard, and he is always going to fight you for the 12 rounds,” Ravens defensive end Terrell Suggs said. “If you look at just the matchups between the two teams in the past, they have always brought it against us. They have always had a special thing to play us.

“They are going to bring it. Our work is cut out for us.”

Tied atop the AFC North with Pittsburgh, the Ravens can’t afford any letdown against the Browns, who despite losing four of their past five games and falling back to their familiar spot at the bottom of the division, have the NFL’s top-ranked pass defense and are showing signs of improvement.

Cleveland doesn’t have playoff hopes, but nothing would ease the pain more than beating the Ravens, who have already shown a tendency to ease up against lesser teams.

Baltimore opened the season by blowing out Pittsburgh 35-7, and followed it with a loss in Week 2 at Tennessee. After thrashing Houston on Oct. 16, the Ravens were shocked in a Monday night game the next week by Jacksonville. Then, after Baltimore completed a season sweep by winning at Pittsburgh, the Ravens were beaten at Seattle the following week.

Coach John Harbaugh is confident his team knows better than to take anyone lightly. They’ve lived the “any given Sunday” — or Monday — cliche this season.

“Our guys, even in the games we haven’t played well and lost on the road, I don’t believe we had an emotional letdown,” he said. “We just have to play well. Every single team in this league is really good and I think the Browns are exceptionally good — much better than their record would indicate. We’ve always had tough games against them. Our guys understand the Browns, they understand the division rivalry and they understand what they’re getting into, so I don’t think there’s any possibility of any kind of emotional letdown.

“We respect everybody and we really respect the Browns.”

Baltimore may again be without linebacker Ray Lewis, the heart, soul and conscience of the Ravens’ nasty defense. Lewis missed practice this week with a toe injury that has kept him out of the previous two games. If Lewis can’t play, Jameel McClain will fill in for the third week in a row.

Browns quarterback Colt McCoy expects to be under pressure from the first snap until the last. He’s counting on Cleveland’s line to protect his back, front, side and whatever other direction the Ravens might be flying at him from.

“You have to trust your guys,” said McCoy, who threw three interceptions last season in his first matchup with Baltimore. “You have to trust your running backs. You have to trust your offensive line to pick up the protection and you have to trust your guys to get open. That’s how it is week to week. This week they are really good up front. They’ve pressured more than anybody we’ve seen. We’ve got a lot on our plate, a lot to handle, but we’re excited about the challenge.”

Peyton Hillis may be the one who can help the Browns most.

After missing five straight games with a hamstring injury, Hillis came back and gained 65 yards last week in a loss to Cincinnati. Hillis ran hard and with purpose, a positive sign that’s he’s trying to finish strong after being hurt and becoming a distraction this season.