NFL pick ’em Week 1: Experts unanimous in Ravens over Browns

Though history points to this AFC North showdown being hotly contested, experts are picking the Baltimore Ravens over the Cleveland Browns

We’re finally back to real live football again, which means it’s time for pundits around the league to predict who will win games. The Baltimore Ravens open the 2020 NFL regular season against the Cleveland Browns in a divisional showdown that could just as easily be prime time worthy.

But with how both the Ravens and Browns finished the regular season last year, the experts are taking the safer bet to begin this season. Baltimore has reigning MVP Lamar Jackson returning along with the league’s best rushing offense and a stout defense. Cleveland has been bit by the injury bug, and once again feature a new coach and general manager.

Let’s take a closer look at what each analyst is predicting for Week 1 in the Ravens vs. Browns.

USA TODAY Sports: Ravens

All seven of USA TODAY Sports’ experts have Baltimore beating Cleveland this week. There is some serious variety in the scores, however. Some have it coming down to just four points while Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz has an 11-point difference in favor of the Ravens. Only one expert, Lori Epstein, has this game as their lock of the week

ESPN: Ravens

Baltimore goes 10-of-10 with ESPN as everyone predicts the Ravens will beat the Browns in Week 1.

NFL.com: Ravens

Writer Gregg Rosenthal expects this one to be close, coming down to a field goal point differential. But he does have the Ravens pulling out the win this week.

Can Baltimore run it back? It’s one of the questions of this NFL season, one that comes with a high degree of difficulty. The Ravens not only fielded one of the best offenses in NFL history — they did it with a style that runs counter to most league trends. Entering a season hoping to be 90 percent of what you were a year ago is an awkward place to be, one that the Browns don’t have to worry about. Can Cleveland possibly squander all this talent again? That’s the Browns’ existential question. With an improved offensive staff ready to take advantage of football’s best backfield (Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt) and a suddenly deep tight end group, the answer should be no. A tight loss for Cleveland would be a moral victory, if such a thing is possible in the stadium that Art Modell built.

New York Times: Ravens

Writer Benjamin Hoffman not only picks Baltimore over Cleveland in Week 1, but he’s going with the Ravens on top of their ridiculously-high point spread.

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NFL pick em divisional playoffs: All experts picking Ravens to beat Titans

Every expert is predicting the Baltimore Ravens will beat the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

The Baltimore Ravens get the Tennessee Titans in the AFC’s divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Fresh off beating the New England Patriots and gashing them on the ground with running back Derrick Henry, many pundits are viewing the Titans as a legitimate threat now.

But sadly for Tennessee, they’ll get the best team in the league in Baltimore. And from the predictions around the league, everyone expects the Ravens to stop the Titans and move on to the AFC Championship Game.

Let’s take a look at what the experts are saying about this game with their predictions.

NFL.com: Ravens

Writer Gregg Rosenthal is predicting a pretty high scoring affair, with Baltimore winning 35-27. Rosenthal noted Tennessee just doesn’t have the talent to remotely contain the Ravens’ offense, much less do it for all four quarters.

ESPN: Ravens

Both Ravens reporter (Jamison Hensley) and Titans reporter (Turron Davenport) are expecting Baltimore to win. They differ in the margin-of-victory though, ranging from a three-point win to a 20-point difference.

Bleacher Report: Ravens

All three experts here predict Baltimore wins oddly enough with everyone pointing to the Ravens scoring 31 points. They point towards Baltimore’s offense being too dynamic to stop and an early lead effectively turning Tennessee into a one-dimensional mess.

SB Nation: Ravens

All nine pundits and one dog are going with Baltimore in this one. It’s the only game this round of the playoffs where they’re unanimous in their prediction.

USA TODAY Sports: Ravens

Of the seven experts here, all seven are going with Baltimore. It follows a trend for the group to go with the home teams winning over the teams that had to play in the wild-card round. The final scores range quite a bit but the largest margin-of-victory for the group is just 11 points.

Sports Illustrated: Ravens

All six of the MMQB crew are predicting the Ravens will beat the Titans. The group is unanimously predicting both of the home teams win in the AFC while being far more mixed about the NFC.

Ravens vs. Jets final score predictions: It’s not going to be pretty

Everyone here at Ravens Wire is predicting another lopsided victory for Baltimore as they take on the New York Jets in Week 15

It’s December, freezing cold and it’s time for football as the Baltimore Ravens host the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football. Arguably the best team in the league going up against one of the worst, Baltimore is rightfully a massive favorite in Week 15. It’s no surprise that us here at Ravens Wire are feeling pretty high about this game ourselves.

Before Baltimore kicks off tonight, take a look at our final score predictions for this game and how we expect it to play out.

Matthew Stevens

Ravens 34 – Jets 10

It’s been the tale of the entire season: Can anyone stop quarterback Lamar Jackson. And against some of the best defenses in the league in terrible weather, the answer has been no. So why would it change this week against a struggling New York squad?

While the Jets at full health would probably be a pretty dangerous opponent, they’re about as beaten up as a team could get. They’ll be without key starters on both sides of the football, which just doesn’t bode well when trying to keep up with the Ravens. Just as we’ve seen repeatedly this season, Baltimore gets out to an early lead which completely kills the Jets’ offense and forces them to be one dimensional, where the Ravens can then be even more aggressive defensively. It’s a death spiral where Baltimore piles on the points before resting the starters in the second half.

Joe Serpico

Ravens 34 – Jets 10

The Jets don’t stand a chance based on recent results and the quick turnaround. They flat out stink on offense and the Ravens are proving that defensive rankings just don’t matter against them right now. Baltimore jumps out to a quick lead that allows them to rest Jackson and that ailing quad in the fourth quarter.

Vasilios Nikolaou

Ravens 52 – Jets 17

To keep line with my bold prediction, the Ravens rain hellfire down onto the Jets under the bright lights of primetime football. Lamar Jackson is going to pad his stats before maybe being deactivated for the end of the season if the Ravens lock up the North and the #1 seed.

The wide receivers and tight ends put on a show for the home crowd and folks start to leave in the third quarter because of the score disparity.

Neil Dutton

Ravens 27 – Jets 6

The Ravens offense has cooled a bit of late, which is understandable given how good they had been and also considering the quality of opposition they’ve faced. But this is something a get right game against one of the leagues sorriest offenses. Even if Lamar Jackson is slightly under the weather, a likely Jamal Adams-less Jets defense should be no match for the Ravens.

Alex Bente

Ravens 30 – Jets 0

The Ravens’ offense should control this game from the onset, sustaining long drives that take loads of time of the clock, but I don’t expect them to dig too deep into their bag of tricks. A steady dose of the run game along with the occasional deep ball should be all Baltimore needs to take care of business.

The defense, on the other hand, will make short work of the Jets’ offense . . . or lack thereof. Hungry after nearly letting the Bills even the score on the game’s final drive, watch as the defense punishes the visiting team in front of a fired-up home crowd. The Jets fail to score as the Ravens cruise to their 10th-straight win, a repeat division title and one step closer to securing home-field advantage in the playoffs.

Kevin Oestreicher

Ravens 35 – Jets 13

I’ve been calling it close for the Ravens in most games and they’ve blown out teams, so now it’s my turn to call a blowout. This Jets team is extremely banged up right now, and although the Ravens are certainly still feeling the effects from the Bills game on Sunday, I expect a dominant showing from Lamar Jackson and company, as well as the defense. I expect a lot of pressure looks to be dialed up by Don Martindale and a run-heavy game plan employed by Greg Roman. I don’t think Lamar Jackson plays a full game in this one, but not because of injury. Instead, the Ravens take advantage of their dominance to get their second-year signal caller some much-needed rest and let Robert Griffin III get some playing time

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NFL pick em Week 14: Experts predicting the Ravens beat the Bills in a tight game

Almost all the pundits around the league are predicting the Ravens will beat the Bills in Week 14, though it’s looking like a close game

The Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills get a rematch of their Week 1 blowout from last season where Baltimore won 47-3. This time, the game has more immediate playoff implications for both the Ravens and Bills as each team is fighting for their postseason fates.

While Baltimore has been the hottest team in the NFL over the last eight weeks, Buffalo finds itself playing significantly better football recently. With both teams playing well and the importance of the matchup, it might normally make league pundits a little more divided on who will win. But not this week as nearly every expert and analyst has the Ravens winning in Week 14.

Let’s take a closer look at what each analyst is thinking about this game.

ESPN: Ravens

Eight of the nine pundits believe Baltimore walks out of this week with another win, as do the fans voting. The only expert not choosing the Ravens this week was Seth Wickersham, who has picked against Baltimore since Week 11 — so take his selection in Week 14 with a grain of salt.

NFL.com: Ravens

NFL writer Gregg Rosenthal has Baltimore winning but notes the Bills are surging and will be a test. However, he still has the Ravens winning by a touchdown, 24-17

“Teams change. The Ravens defense transformed from solid to stellar just as Lamar Jackson took off into the stratosphere. I was slow to identify Buffalo’s defensive transformation in November after a mostly disappointing first two months. LB Matt Milano has gone from a liability to a star again. Top-10 pick Ed Oliver is now making a huge impact. Head man Sean McDermott is coaching with more aggression. And most importantly, Josh Allen is making far better decisions in the best stretch of his career while getting more help from rookie RB Devin Singletary. The Ravens are catching the Bills at the wrong time. The Bills are catching the Ravens at the wrong time. That makes it the right time to enjoy another Ravens slugfest win where Jackson is the difference.”

USA TODAY Sports: Ravens

Of the seven pundits predicting picks here, six have Baltimore winning in Week 14. Almost everyone thinks this will be a close one except for Tom Shad, who has the Ravens winning by 13 points.

Sports Illustrated: Ravens

Everyone at Sports Illustrated is picking the Ravens this week. It’s one of just five unanimous decisions from this group in Week 14.

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