TONY GROSSI SCOUTS THE BALTIMORE RAVENS

Kickoff: Browns at Ravens, Saturday 1 p.m. in M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore.

Record: 10-4.

Most recent game: Lost to Chargers, 34-14, Dec. 18, in San Diego.

Coach: John Harbaugh, 46-23, fourth year.

Series record: Ravens lead, 18-7.

Most recent meeting: Ravens won, 24-10, Dec. 4 in Cleveland.

League rankings: Offense is 15th overall (16th rushing, 16th passing), defense is third (second rushing, fifth passing) and turnover differential is plus-1.

Offensive overview

Despite having all the pieces, they still aren’t able to push the pedal to floor and score like the elite offenses. They’ve gone four games in a row without scoring more than 24 points — hitting that figure in wins over the Browns and Colts, but scoring only 30 combined against the 49ers and Chargers. This inconsistency might only be a concern to them in the postseason when they get hooked up in a scoring duel with the likes of New England and Houston, or New Orleans or Green Bay in the Big Game. Otherwise, they can win by handing off and throwing to Ray Rice and dumping to tight ends Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta and receiver Anquan Boldin. The long game to rookie Torrey Smith and, some day, Lee Evans, is what may put them over the top.

Defensive overview

If they don’t get pass pressure, they are as vulnerable as any defense. In their four losses, they have registered only five sacks. The Chargers took command early by hitting them with quick passes and screens. The pressure was lacking even though they finally got linebacker Ray Lewis back after missing several games with turf toe. Their cast of characters is well-known and widely feared — tackle Haloti Ngata, rush linebackers Terrell Suggs and Jarret Johnson, safety Ed Reed. Bernard Pollard has been an enforcer at strong safety. The cornerback position suffered when Lardarius Webb was reduced to nickel duty. Rookie Jimmy Smith was picked on in his first NFL start.

Special teams overview

Kicker Billy Cundiff is 27-of-36 in field goals with a long of 51 yards. He has missed three of his past five attempts, and his nine misses match the league’s most. Despite Cundiff’s 42 touchbacks, the Ravens are only 29th in average drive start after kickoffs — which means they give up some healthy returns when Cundiff doesn’t boot it out of the end zone. Punter Sam Koch is 10th in gross average (46.6 yards) and 12th in net (39.7). David Reed is back on kick returns after losing the job earlier because of fumbles. Webb hit the Browns with a 68-yard punt return but is hobbled.

Players to watch

Running back Ray Rice: His record 204 yards rushing in the first meeting vaulted him up the NFL leaderboard. He’s now fifth with 1,086 yards and 10 TDs on the ground, and added two among his team- high 71 receptions.

Linebacker Terrell Suggs: He was kept fairly at bay in the first meeting, netting only one sack. His 13 lead the AFC and tie for fifth in the NFL.

Safety Ed Reed: Three of his eight career interception returns for touchdowns have come against the Browns. He, too, was relatively quiet in the first meeting.

Injury report

PK Cundiff (calf) has played but not practiced the past two weeks. CB Webb (toe) was limited all week but played in nickel.

Small world

Among the many players, coaches and executives who formerly worked or played for the Browns are: General Manager Ozzie Newsome, senior personnel assistant George Kokinis, defensive line coach Clarence Brooks, defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, director of pro personnel Vince Newsome, vice president of football administration Pat Moriarty, assistant special teams coach Marwan Maalouf and special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg. . . . Receiver Lee Evans attended Bedford High School. . . . Safety Haruki Nakamura is a Cleveland native who attended St. Edward High School. . . . Scout Jack Glowik is a Cleveland native who attended Benedictine High School. . . . Linebackers coach Dean Pees is a former head coach at Kent State.

It has been more than two weeks since Baltimore Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis has played a game because of an injured right toe, but no one needed the break more than the team’s 36-year-old defensive leader.

“The rest part is big,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “I’m hopeful. I think he’s got a real good chance (to play Sunday). We’ll just have to see how it goes.”

But Harbaugh made a point not to make any assurances of Lewis returning to face the Cleveland Browns this weekend.

“Ray is probably the guy that’s the furthest away (from returning), if you’re looking at all the guys,” Harbaugh told the team’s official website. “But then again, you never know. Ray has a sprained toe, a turf toe kind of thing, so those are a little more unpredictable.”

The Ravens (8-3) surprisingly have flourished without Lewis. The defense experienced its ups and downs during a 31-24 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, but Baltimore had nine sacks and yielded just two field goals in turning back the San Francisco 49ers 16-6 on Thanksgiving.

“They were two huge wins in five days. You can’t say enough about it,” Ravens linebacker Jarret Johnson said. “It’s a tough thing to do. We played a really good game against the Niners, but we’re moving on. We need to get win No. 9, and we’re going to try and get it this week.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Baltimore’s three losses this season followed significant victories and occurred on the road against sub-.500 teams. The Ravens are determined to break the trend on Sunday at Cleveland (4-7).

“It doesn’t matter how many wins and losses they have,” linebacker Jarret Johnson said Monday. “They always play good against us. It’s going to be a dogfight, so we better bring it.”

Coach John Harbaugh believes the problem in Baltimore’s three defeats wasn’t so much mental as it was physical.

“What we didn’t do is, we didn’t play very well,” he said. “We certainly acknowledge that those three losses coming off big wins were not good performances. They’re there. They’re on the record. Now we face a similar challenge this week, but a tougher challenge, because now we’ve got to go play a team in our division.”

The AFC North is jammed at the top. The Ravens are tied with Pittsburgh for the lead and the Bengals are one game back.

“We expect it to be a tight race. We just want to uphold our end of the bargain,” Harbaugh said. “What you have to concern yourself with is winning. That’s the bottom line for us. We can’t be concerned what the others teams do. We have to be concerned with what we do.”

The Ravens couldn’t have asked for a better scenario entering the final five weeks of the season. Before facing Cleveland twice, winless Indianapolis and struggling San Diego, they received a lengthy break following a rugged 16-6 conquest of the 49ers.

“That was big to have,” defensive tackle Terrence Cody said. “We have a lot of guys banged up — nicks and bruises — and it was big to have (time off) at this point in the season.”

It’s been more than two weeks since middle linebacker Ray Lewis (sore right toe) has played a game, and no one on the team needed the break more than Baltimore’s 36-year-old defensive leader.

“The rest part is big,” Harbaugh said. “I’m hopeful. I think he’s got a real good chance” to play Sunday. “We’ll just have to see how it goes.”

Fortunately for the Ravens, they have flourished without Lewis. The defense had its ups and downs in a 31-24 win over the Bengals, but Baltimore had nine sacks and yielded only two field goals in turning back San Francisco.

“They were two huge wins in five days. You can’t say enough about it,” Johnson said. “It’s a tough thing to do. We played a really good game against the Niners, but we’re moving on. We need to get win No.9 and we’re going to try and get it this week.”

Much will be written and said in the next few days about Baltimore’s tendency to stumble against sub-par teams. As far as defensive tackle Cory Redding is concerned, the toughest team the Ravens will face down the stretch will be … the Ravens.

“It’s not the Indianapolis Colts, it’s not the Cincinnati Bengals or anybody else that’s left on our schedule. It’s us,” Redding said. “As long as we continue to beat the negatives, beat the things that can hinder us from getting a win and overcome the mistakes we make on Sunday, we’ll get those victories. But we’ve got to beat the things that can hurt us, and that’s us. As long as we make our plays and not make any careless mistakes, then we’ll be great.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP)—As a reward for playing twice in five days, the
Baltimore Ravens got the weekend off to collect their thoughts, get healthy and
ready themselves for a very important stretch run to end the regular season.

The Ravens (8-3) beat Cincinnati last Sunday and San Francisco on
Thanksgiving to ascend to the top of the AFC North. Their next four games are
against teams with losing records, but that isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Baltimore’s three defeats this season come on the road against sub-.500
teams following uplifting victories. The Ravens are determined to break the
trend Sunday against Cleveland (4-7).

Ravens linebacker Jarret Johnson(notes) said Monday, “It doesn’t matter how many
wins and losses they have. They always play good against us. It’s going to be a
dogfight.”

Joe Flacco threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns, rookie Torrey Smith had six catches for 165 yards, and the Ravens (7-3) held off a late charge by the Bengals (6-4) to climb into a tie with Pittsburgh for the division lead.

Baltimore, however, owns the tiebreaker over the Steelers because it has beaten Pittsburgh twice.

“We’re the master of our destiny,” linebacker Terrell Suggs said.

That’s certainly worth savoring, but the Ravens will play their second game in five days on Thursday at home against San Francisco (9-1) in the NFL’s first matchup of head coaches who are brothers.

Baltimore coach John Harbaugh was asked if he was thinking about facing Jim Harbaugh on Thanksgiving.

“It’s two really good football teams going at it,” Harbaugh said. “I think, for our parents, it’s good. But you look at what these players are going to have to do to in a four-day period to get past this game, and to me that’s the story.”

The Ravens would love to bask in the afterglow of their win over the Bengals, but there’s just no time.

“It’s going to be quick,” said running back Ray Rice, who ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns. “It’s so fast that you’re on to San Fran right now. I’m going to try to watch some film on San Fran tonight to get the jump start.”

Unfortunately for the Bengals, they will have to wait a full week before getting a chance to rebound from a disappointing defeat. Cincinnati trailed 31-14 early in the fourth quarter but drove to the Baltimore 7 in the final minute before being denied its bid to complete the comeback.

One week earlier, the Bengals rallied from a 14-0 deficit before losing to Pittsburgh.

“In my mind, we’re better than those teams,” tight end Jermaine Gresham said. “They’re great teams and everything, but I think big mistakes killed (us) in some areas. We just have to get better. We will get better.”

The need to play a full 60 minutes against elite competition was a constant refrain in a quiet Cincinnati dressing room, where players lamented their inability to compensate for untimely mistakes and voiced a sense that they could perform at a higher level.

“It comes down to the fourth quarter,” said rookie quarterback Andy Dalton, who threw for 373 yards but was intercepted three times. “That’s how every game’s been for us. We’ve got to start faster. We can’t wait around until the end of the game to pick it up, come out and get back in it. It’s definitely going to be a focus for us.”

Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko added, “We played a good game today, but we didn’t finish. Usually, we finish. We need to finish.”

Cincinnati next faces Cleveland at home Sunday.

Down 31-24, Cincinnati had a second-and-goal at the Baltimore 7 when Suggs collared Dalton, who was called for intentional grounding. On fourth-and-goal, Dalton was sacked by Pernell McPhee.

The Bengals needed seven points because on the previous series, an apparent 9-yard touchdown pass from Dalton to Gresham was overturned by a replay that determined the receiver didn’t hold onto the ball at the end of a juggling catch. Cincinnati settled for a field goal with 5:32 remaining.

“When the receiver went to the ground, he had the ball in his right hand,” referee Ron Winter said. “The ball touched the ground and his hand came off the ball.”

Baltimore won despite playing without middle linebacker Ray Lewis, who was inactive with a toe injury. He had played in 57 straight games and hopes to return for the 49ers.

Smith, whose 165 yards were third-most by a receiver in Ravens history, might have had more if Adam Jones didn’t grab hold of Smith’s long dreadlocks at the end of a 28-yard completion in the second quarter.

Jones was initially flagged for a horse-collar tackle, but officials corrected themselves and did not mark off any yardage because it’s legal to tackle a runner by pulling his hair.

“I thought I was going to score,” Smith said. “Next thing I know, I’m getting pulled down by my dreads.”

Dalton went 24 for 45 with a touchdown. Cincinnati was without standout rookie wide receiver A.J. Green, who hurt his right knee a week earlier in a loss to Pittsburgh.

But the Bengals gave Baltimore all it could handle.

“We’ve won six games to this point and we’ll win some more,” coach Marvin Lewis said. “We’ve just got to circle the wagons, lick our wounds and go.”

NOTES: Former Ravens kicker Matt Stover was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor during a halftime ceremony. … Ravens LB Jarret Johnson made his 74th consecutive start, breaking the franchise record previously held by Michael McCrary and Jamie Sharper. … Baltimore has won seven straight at home and 15 of 16.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.