Browns vs. Ravens 2016 preview: Cleveland still looking for its 1st win

The AFC North was expected to be one of the most competitive divisions this season, but as we approach Week 10, most of the contenders are mired in mediocrity. The Baltimore Ravens currently sit at 4-4, but that's good enough for first place at the moment. They'll try to hold that spot when they host the winless Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football.

These teams last met in Week 2, which was an early sign of things to come for Cleveland. The Browns jumped out to a 20-0 lead, thanks to Josh McCown and Corey Coleman making big plays against the Ravens' defense. Then McCown went down with a shoulder injury, untested rookie Cody Kessler came in, and the rest is history. Baltimore rallied back with 25 unanswered points to steal the win on the road. With the Browns still looking for their first win of the season, giving up that lead is surely a painful moment.

With so many promising offensive weapons, why are the Browns winless? Let's look at the other side of the field. Cleveland's defense is 31st in yards allowed per game, 31st in points allowed per game, 26th in sacks, and tied for 24th in turnover differential with -4. They haven't been stopping anybody this season, and showed little resistance to Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott on Sunday. Dallas cruised to an easy 35-10 win, with Elliott scoring two touchdowns and Prescott throwing for three more. The road to 0-16 is alive and well for Cleveland.

The Ravens have many problems of their own, specifically on offense. Joe Flacco has been playing bad football for long stretches, and doesn't look close to the same quarterback he was before tearing his ACL late in the 2015 season. Through eight games, he's completing 61.2 percent of his passes for 2,078 yards (6.2 yards per attempt), six touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He's not moving the ball as he used to, although he's not getting any help from a putrid running game. Terrance West and Kenneth Dixon combined for just 34 yards on 24 carries in the Week 9 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That stagnating offense contributed to Baltimore's recent four-game losing streak. The Ravens are 27th in yards per game, and they're scoring just 19.3 points per game, 26th in the league. Their running game is almost nonexistent, ranking 28th with 81.8 yards per game. West has significantly cooled off, while Dixon is a fifth-round rookie still trying to establish himself after a long injury layoff. The return of Steve Smith should help boost the passing game, but the Ravens don't have a lot of easy fixes, even after firing offensive coordinator Marc Trestman earlier in the year.

Fortunately, Baltimore still has a top-level defense that helped the team snap its losing streak. The Ravens shut down a Steelers team getting Ben Roethlisberger back, forcing the Steelers into a historically bad first half. Roethlisberger came to life in the fourth quarter, but the damage had been done by then, and the Ravens came away with the 21-14 victory. Special teams was also a major factor, with Baltimore running back a blocked punt for a touchdown that essentially salted the game.

That defense should help carry Baltimore most weeks, but the team's grip on the division lead is tenuous, and the schedule doesn't get any easier. After this week's Browns game comes the Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals, followed by a resurgent Miami Dolphins squad, the New England Patriots, and Philadelphia Eagles before wrapping up the season with rematches against the Steelers and Browns. Baltimore has little margin for error and needs to get the win over a clearly inferior Browns team to stay ahead of the pack.