Lamar Jackson expected to start for Ravens at Browns as Baltimore seeks 4th straight win

Jackson, a two-time MVP, returned to practice Thursday and is expected to start as Baltimore seeks its fourth straight win and contends for a third consecutive division title.

Jackson, who wasn't sure exactly when he suffered the injury during last weekend’s 27-19 win at Minnesota, almost sounded as if he welcomed the challenge if the Browns decided to blitz him more often because of the knee problem.

“That’s cool with me. I’m cool with it. We’re going to see,” Jackson said.

Baltimore (4-5) lost five of its first six but is unbeaten since its bye week. The Ravens routed the Browns 41-17 in Week 2.

Jackson, who missed three games with a hamstring injury, has completed 35 of 51 passes for 380 yards and five touchdowns in two games since his return.

“Yeah, looks like himself. The offense is a huge challenge with him in there — just his ability as a passer, and the running element he adds to their offense. They have playmakers throughout the roster,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said.

While the Ravens have scored at least 27 points in each of their last three games, their greatest improvement has been on defense.

Baltimore gave up at least 37 points in four of its first five games, but has held its last four opponents under 20.

“I think we’ve built some confidence over the past few weeks. Stemming from after the bye,” safety Kyle Hamilton said. “I think a lot of guys felt it was a good time for that bye to come and just like a hard reset for everybody. We’re rolling now as a defense and as a team, so we just have to keep it going. We can’t take for granted what we’ve created over the past few weeks. We have to keep it moving.”

The Ravens aim to sweep the Browns for the first time since 2020. Cleveland (2-7) has lost two straight and continues to struggle offensively. Dillon Gabriel, 1-4 as a starter, first played against Baltimore in mop-up duty, throwing an 8-yard TD pass to Dylan Sampson.

The Browns had two turnovers and a punt blocked in the first meeting, which led to 21 Ravens points.

Revolving door

Gabriel becomes the sixth Browns quarterback to face the Ravens in six meetings. Joe Flacco made his return to Baltimore earlier this season but lost a fumble and threw a pair of interceptions. Flacco was eventually traded to Cincinnati.

Gabriel, a third-round draft pick has completed only 58.6% of his passes. He has thrown for seven touchdowns and only two interceptions.

The Ravens beat another rookie quarterback, Minnesota's J.J. McCarthy, last week.

“It’s very challenging. You have to face the people that you play, and you have a guy (in Dillon Gabriel) who is athletic. He’s young. We haven’t seen much of him,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.

Looking to bounce back

Cleveland’s defense, ranked second overall, allows 264.9 yards per game. However, two penalties on the final drive last weekend gave the New York Jets first downs and let them run out the clock.

All-Pro pass rusher Myles Garrett leads the league with 17 tackles for loss and shares the sack lead with 11. He has sacked Jackson seven times.

Closing in

The Ravens are closing in on a few milestones. Mark Andrews is 3 yards receiving behind Derrick Mason for the franchise’s career lead, and he’s six receptions behind Mason for the team record in that category. Mason caught 471 passes for 5,777 yards for Baltimore.

Additionally, veteran DeAndre Hopkins is four receptions shy of 1,000.

Turnover turnaround

Baltimore had a minus-7 turnover margin while starting the season 1-5. Then the Ravens won three in a row with a plus-7 margin across those games.

“It’s something that we practice and something that has to be intentional throughout the game — intentionally punching at the ball, ripping at the ball, whatever it may be,” Hamilton said. “Guys see other guys doing it, and it motivates other people and brings that intentionality out.”

AP Sports Writer Noah Trister contributed to this report.

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