Browns vs. Ravens 2016: Time, TV schedule, and team news for ‘Thursday Night Football’

The Baltimore Ravens snapped a four-game losing streak to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and return to the top spot in the AFC North last Sunday. To hold on to a tenuous playoff berth, they’ll have to get past an 0-9 Cleveland Browns team on Thursday Night Football.

The Ravens hamstrung the Steelers in Week 9, limiting Ben Roethlisberger to just 50 first-half passing yards in a performance that made the four-time Pro Bowler look more like Ryan Fitzpatrick. All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell, who carved Baltimore up for 129 yards the last time these teams met, gained just 32 yards on 14 carries against a rejuvenated defense. After a lost 2015, defensive coordinator Dean Pees has restored the Ravens D back to a its fearsome reputation.

That’s bad news for a Cleveland team with question marks on both sides of the ball. The Browns are seeking to end the instability behind center that has plagued the franchise since its return to northeast Ohio. Injuries have forced the team to play six different quarterbacks this fall. Despite the presence of a healthy Josh McCown, head coach Hue Jackson will stick with rookie third-round pick Cody Kessler — for now.

“As I am evaluating our team as we continue to move forward, there are a lot of things I want to find out and know,” Jackson said.

”The more I can see guys play, the better decisions I can make as we move forward. It is tough because Josh has done some great work for me and for this team and for our offense. I keep talking about the long-term picture for myself and our organization of knowing and seeing and making sure of where we are. That is really important.”

Developing Kessler into even a league-average starting quarterback would be a huge boost for one of the NFL’s most desperate situations. In the past six seasons, the Browns have had six different leading passers. No passer has been the team’s No. 1 option for more than two years since Tim Couch was in town.

But the offense isn’t Cleveland’s biggest issue in 2016. An inexperienced, haggard defense has made opposing passers look like Drew Brees, and given up more than 30 points per game. A Week 2 effort in which the Browns held Baltimore to only 25 points stands as the team’s best defensive showing of the season.

It’s difficult to find much more encouragement for the Browns from that September effort. Cleveland led Baltimore 20-0 in the first quarter before allowing the Ravens to win a game in which they had a 6.6 percent win probability with 40 minutes to play. On Thursday, they’ll have the benefit of a hometown crowd as well as the momentum of a season-affirming win over the Steelers in Week 9.

For Cleveland to pull off the upset, it will need a career day from Kessler in a probable shootout. The USC product didn’t face the Ravens’ defense the first time these teams met, and he’ll have the opportunity to build from the momentum of a solid performance in last week’s defeat in Dallas.

Kessler has shown he’s got an accurate arm and has made the most out of a modest collection of offensive weapons in his first season. He can prove a lot more if he can find a way to deliver the Browns first victory of the season.

Time: 8:25 p.m. ET

Location: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore

TV: NFL Network

Announcers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Heather Cox

Online Streaming: Sunday Ticket