The Baltimore Ravens have been rolling lately, and a growing number of people believed they were legitimate Super Bowl contenders or even arguably the best team in the NFL.
But those claims took a sizable hit on Sunday when the Ravens fell to the Cleveland Browns, 33-31, dropping their record on the season to 7-3.
Ravens safety Marcus Williams has been dealing with an injury, and after the game, head coach John Harbaugh downplayed any real concern about him, per Sarah Ellison.
John Harbaugh was asked if Marcus Williams is a liability with not being able to use his arm to wrap up and tackle: “I think he’s going to keep getting better as he gets more comfortable. He’s got some limitation with the protection [brace] he has on it. But as he gets stronger -…
— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) November 13, 2023
Williams has had a left pectoral injury and a hamstring ailment this season, and he appeared in his first game since mid-October.
Early on, it looked like Baltimore was going to waltz their way to victory, as they scored the first touchdown of the game on a pick-six of Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson’s first pass attempt of the day.
They ran up a 24-9 lead early in the third quarter, but Watson got hot and allowed Cleveland to chip away at that lead until Dustin Hopkins’ field goal won the game in the closing seconds.
Ravens signal-caller Lamar Jackson completed just 13 of 23 passes and threw one touchdown against two interceptions, and his team’s normally potent running game was held to 106 yards.
The Ravens still hold first place in the AFC North, but it has fallen behind the idle Kansas City Chiefs and into second place in the conference.
They will have a short rest period before they face another stiff test in the form of the Cincinnati Bengals, who suffered their own difficult loss on Sunday to the upstart Houston Texans.
