Browns–Ravens rivalry

Cleveland Browns–Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns Baltimore Ravens
First meeting	September 26, 1999 Ravens 17, Browns 10
Latest meeting	October 7, 2018 Browns 12, Ravens 9
Statistics
Meetings total	39
All-time series	Ravens leads series, 29–10
Regular season series	Same record as series record
Postseason results	No playoff meetings (as of 2018 offseason)
Largest victory	Ravens 44–7 11/26/2000[1]
Longest win streak	BAL: 11 (September 21, 2008 – September 15, 2013)[1] CLE: 2 (2 occurences)
Current win streak	CLE: 1 win
Championship Success
NFL Championships (11) CLE (8) – AAFC:1946,1947,1948,1949, NFL: 1950, 1954, 1955, 1964 BAL (2) – 2000 (Super Bowl XXXV), 2012 (Super Bowl XLVII) NFL/AFC Conference Championships (16) CLE: (11) - NFL American: – 1950, 1951, 1952 - NFL Eastern: — 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969 BAL (2) – AFC: 2000, 2012

The Browns–Ravens rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens. The rivalry began in 1999, with the resumption of the expansion Browns' franchise, which was created as a result of the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy. The rivalry between the Browns and Ravens was more directed at former Browns owner Art Modell than the team itself, and has, by most Ravens fans, been simply considered a divisional rivalry game.

Additionally, this matchup is more bitter for Cleveland than the others due to the fact that the draft picks for 1995 to 1998 resulted in the rosters that won the Super Bowl for the Ravens in 2000. Had the Browns stayed in Cleveland, these teams (drafted by general manager Ozzie Newsome) might have given the Browns the title after a 35-year drought.^[2] This bitterness was compounded when the Ravens won their second Super Bowl in 2012.

The reactivated Cleveland Browns and many of their fans, as well as the Cleveland local news media, maintain a hatred of Baltimore's team due to its move from Cleveland. The rivalry with the Browns has been very one-sided; Baltimore holds an advantage of 29–10 against Cleveland.

The two AFC North rivals have butted heads twice annually since 1999 when they represented the bygone AFC Central Division. The origin of the rivalry, of course, dates back two decades to when the original Browns deserted Cleveland for the promise of a new stadium and revenue streams in Baltimore. ^[3]

The rivalry with the Ravens and the Browns' intrastate rival, the Cincinnati Bengals, mates of both in the AFC North, has been much closer, with the Ravens leading the all-time series 22–21 as of Week 3 of the 2017 NFL season.

Memorable moments since 1999

• Browns fan desecrates Modell's grave: In 2014, a YouTube video surfaced of a man wearing a Lyle Alzado Browns jersey urinating on the grave of Art Modell, the Browns' owner who moved the original team to Baltimore to establish the Ravens.^[4]
• A video of a Ravens fan celebrating a Baltimore touchdown by walking up and down the "Dawg Pound" area of FirstEnergy Stadium and being berated by the surrounding Browns fans garnered media attention with over 1.2 million views on YouTube. The fan was later invited on 98 Rock Baltimore to talk about the viral video.^[5][6]
• The "Butt Catch": In 2015, Browns tight end Gary Barnidge caught a contested throw from Josh McCown in between his legs after it bounced off his hands onto his posterior, scoring a touchdown to help the Browns win 33-30 in overtime.^[7] This was Cleveland's last divisional victory until 2018 (see below).
• The Kick 6: The rematch in 2015 on ESPN's Monday Night Football was another close game, this time in favor of the Ravens. When the Browns were in position to win the game with a field goal in the fourth quarter, Ravens defender Brent Urban blocked the kick, allowing teammate Will Hill to recover the ball and run it in for the game-winning touchdown.^[8] The game was noted for numerous Browns fans' reactions to their team's heartbreaking loss and has been considered one of the worst moments in Browns history.^[9][10]
• In week 5 of the 2018 season, the Browns finally won their first divisional game since 2015 with a strong defensive performance and 342 passing yards from rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield. In another overtime game, the Browns and Ravens traded possessions in the extra period until Mayfield drove Cleveland deep into Baltimore territory to set up the game-winning field goal from undrafted rookie kicker Greg Joseph.^[11]

Notable people connected to rivalry

• Art Modell - Modell angered many Clevelanders when he moved the Browns, but he instantly won the hearts of Baltimore fans almost instantly for bringing the NFL back to that city 12 years after then Baltimore Colts owner Robert Irsay packed his team and left for Indianapolis in moving vans in 1984. Although still vilified by ardent Browns fans to this day, he still was instrumental in helping his friend, then MBNA corporate president and minority investor Al Lerner, secure the purchase rights of what became the new expansion Browns franchise in 1999 in spring of 1996.
• Ozzie Newsome - The legendary Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end, who played for the Browns from 1978-1990, has been a guru in evaluating talent since he followed Modell, who hired him in the Browns' front office in 1992, to Baltimore as the team's new director of player personnel, and then as the team's new GM in 2002, either helping the team draft or drafting such standout players as Hall of Fame players Ray Lewis, Jamal Lewis and Jonathan Ogden and QB Joe Flacco, and trading for or signing standout players such as Steve Smith, Sr. and Priest Holmes, which has, much to the chagrin of Browns' fans, greatly contributed to the Ravens' dominance over Newsome's former team.
• Jamal Lewis - Played for the Ravens for six of his nine NFL seasons, where he regularly torched the Browns defenses, before he signed with the Browns in 2007, one of only two seasons where the Browns swept the season series from the Ravens, the other being 2001. Made the Pro Bowl in 2003 after rushing for 2,066 yards; in total, he rushed for 1,000 yards or more 5 of the six years there. In 2007, he was still efficient in rushing for 1,304 yards for the Browns, as he would follow that season up with rush totals of 1,002 yards in 2008 and 500 in 2009 before retiring as a Brown.
• Phil Savage - Began his administrative career with the Browns, as part of the team's scouting department in 1993 with Newsome, before joining him and other Browns personnel to become part of the Ravens' scouting department when the team moved to Baltimore. He then assumed the title of director of player personnel in 2003 for the Ravens. After leaving that job to assume the role of Senior VP and GM in Cleveland in 2005, he was let go in 2008 after a disappointing, injury-filled 4-12 season, with then-head coach Romeo Crennel. This was after the team posted a 10-6 season where they beat the Ravens twice that year, but still lost the opportunity to win the AFC North division title and earn a playoff birth in a tie-breaker situation with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• Romeo Crennel - The longtime defensive assistant who's responsible for building championship defenses for both the New York Giants in the 1980s and early 1990s and the New England Patriots has the dubious distinction of being one of only two head coaches (the other being Butch Davis in 2001) to post a winning record, this being the 2007 NFL season. He also served as the defensive coordinator for the expansion Browns under Chris Palmer in 2000.
• Butch Davis - Posted the first of two season series sweeps of the Ravens by the Browns in 2001 (the other being by Crennel in 2007), before a power struggle forced him to mutually part ways with the team (a debate still exists whether he resigned, or was fired) and go back to coaching in the college ranks. As of the end of the 2017 season, Davis, to date, is the only coach to coach the newly-activated Browns to a playoff birth (in the 2002 NFL season; they finished the year 9-7 record).
• Billy Cundiff - Placekicker who played for both the Browns and Ravens. Cundiff kicked two field goals that were the difference in helping Cleveland defeat the Buffalo Bills in an ugly 6-3 game.^[12] His time with the Ravens was marred by one of the most infamous missed field goals in recent NFL history, which cost Baltimore a chance to beat the New England Patriots and advance to the Super Bowl.^[13]

Game results

See also

• National Football League rivalries
• Cleveland Browns relocation controversy

References

External links

• Ravens vs. Browns series game results