2025 NFL Picks – Week 2: Browns at Ravens

The Matchup. Edge: Ravens.

HATE MAIL: We’re going to post hate mail here this year. Here’s some hate mail from the summer:

I compiled tons of hate mail in last week’s Jerks of the Week entry, entitled the The Mina Kimes Fanboy Club.

Here, we have some more I didn’t post in that article:

I wish I had seen these when they were posted so I could have replied to these beta male cucks. I love how the one guy thinks Mina Kimes and I are going to sit down and break down film together. What a loon. Also, with that guy saying that we have 2004 formatting here: Excuse me, this is 1999 formatting. Get your facts straight.

Here’s something from last week:

Is this guy spying on me, or something? How did he know!?

BALTIMORE OFFENSE: The Ravens lost last week, but they were the better team. They averaged north of eight yards per play, and they would have prevailed over Buffalo had Derrick Henry not lost a fumble.

However, the Baltimore offense is in for a bigger challenge this week. Cleveland just limited the Bengals to 141 net yards of offense. I don’t think the Browns will have similar success in this game because the Ravens have a much better offensive line than the Bengals, but Myles Garrett and the other Cleveland edge players will do a better job of keeping Lamar Jackson in check on the ground.

The Browns will also be able to limit Henry much more effectively than Buffalo. Of course, you could say that’ll happen by default, but the Browns won’t allow Henry to break free for multiple long runs like the Bills did on Sunday night.

CLEVELAND OFFENSE: The Ravens surrendered 41 points to the Bills, but their defense was doing a great job on Josh Allen and company until late in the game when they were exhausted after playing so many snaps.

It goes without saying that the Browns are a far less challenging opponent than Buffalo, but it’s not like Cleveland is inept on this side of the ball. Joe Flacco brings professionalism to Cleveland’s quarterback position, which is something the team didn’t have last year when it was starting Deshaun Watson and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Flacco was quite good in Week 1, albeit against a horrible Cincinnati defense. He threw two interceptions, but only because his receivers bobbled balls thrown to them and had those balls pop into the arms of Cincinnati players.

The Browns still have a major issue on this side of the ball, and that would be the lack of a rushing attack. Perhaps this will change when Quinshon Judkins is ready to go, but neither Jerome Ford nor Dylan Sampson are effective runners. A strong defense like Baltimore’s won’t have much of an issue defending a one-dimensional offense.

RECAP: This is a classic sandwich game for the Ravens. They’re coming off that ridiculous 41-40 affair against the Bills, and after this “easy” game against the Browns, they’ll be playing Monday night against Detroit. I don’t think the Lions are a great team anymore, but most people don’t realize that. A 15-2 opponent from a year ago will certainly be on Baltimore’s radar, especially in a nationally televised game.

It’ll be shocking if the Ravens bring 100-percent effort in this game. They believe they can beat the Browns with one hand tied behind their back, and we saw something similar in Week 2 last year. The Ravens lost to the Chiefs and then were a no-show against the crappy Raiders. They ended up losing outright.

I said this last week, but I don’t think the Browns are as bad as some people make them out to be. They have a great defense that just limited Joe Burrow to 141 yards, and their offensive line is solid. They also have talented weapons and a veteran quarterback who can take care of the football. Things will go south for the Browns once Flacco is inevitably replaced by Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders, but we can bet them safely at the moment.

THURSDAY THOUGHTS: Nothing new here. I still like the Browns for a couple of units on this high spread.

The Motivation. Edge: Browns.

Following the Buffalo shootout, the Ravens have this game and then a Monday night affair against the Lions. A classic sandwich situation.

The Spread. Edge: None.

WalterFootball.com Calculated Spread: Ravens -10.5.

Westgate Advance Point Spread: Ravens -12.5.

Computer Model: Ravens -13.

The Vegas. Edge: Ravens.

Equal action.

Percentage of money on Cleveland: 59% (21,000 bets)

The Trends. Edge: Ravens.

History: Ravens have won 26 of the last 34 meetings.

Lamar Jackson is 10-3 ATS as a favorite of 10+.

Lamar Jackson is 15-22 ATS as a home favorite of 3.5+, not counting Week 1.

Opening Line: Ravens -12.5.

Opening Total: 44.5.

Weather: .