BEREA, Ohio — Pro Bowlers Denzel Ward and Jerry Jeudy aren’t loving the Browns being installed by Vegas oddsmakers as 11.5-point underdogs to the Ravens on Sunday in Baltimore.
“Yeah, it is definitely disrespect, but we just have to go in there and take care of business regardless of what people may think and who they’ve got winning or losing the game,” Ward said. “We have to go in and try to beat the odds. They put us against the odds, we’ve we got to go in there and try to beat it.”
Both teams are 0-1, having come off gut-wrenching losses in their openers. The Browns dropped a 17-16 decision to the Bengals, and the Ravens lost 41-40 to the Bills after blowing a 40-25 lead with less than five minutes remaining.
The Browns, everybody’s punching bag this season, gave the Bengals a great battle, outgaining them 327 yards to 141 and holding Cincy to 7 yards, 3 points and 1 first down in the second half.
Besides, the Browns, who went 3-14 last season to the Ravens’ 12-5, have won 4 of the past 7 meetings.
“That’s disrespectful,” Jeudy said. “But at the end of the day, if they think Baltimore could beat us like that, we’re going have to prove another thing. We’ve got to do our job and do our best to win the game.”
A native Clevelander, Ward can’t get worked up about the Ravens celebrating 30 years of football in Baltimore since Art Modell moved the Browns there with Cleveland in town on Sunday. The celebration will feature players from their 1996 inaugural team, officials who were instrumental in bringing the team to Baltimore, and a dramatic mixed-reality show on the RavensVision video boards. Additionally, all fans attending the game will receive a Ravens Forevermore 30th season flag.
“No, it doesn’t really mean much to me,” said Ward, who was born in 1997, the year after the Ravens’ first season. “Just the same goal every week to go in, focus on what we’ve got to do to get the win and that’s the main focus.”
More than anything, Ward wants a victory. Along the way, he hopes to make quarterback Joe Flacco’s return to Baltimore for the first time a successful one. Flacco played 11 seasons there, leading the Ravens to six playoff berths, three AFC Championship Games, and one Super Bowl victory after the 2012 season. He also earned Super Bowl MVP honors.
“It’d be good,” Ward said. “Like I said, that’s our main goal, get this win and it’d be great to get the win for Joe going back to his old team and if we could do that, it’d be a good day.”
If they can just overcome that 11.5-point spread.
– This post has been updated to correct that Baltimore held a 40-25 lead over Buffalo in the fourth quarter Sunday night.
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