BALTIMORE
: Baltimore's 24-18 loss in Cleveland dropped the Ravens to 3-5, the first time they've been under .500 at the midpoint in Coach John Harbaugh's six seasons at the helm. The Ravens also lost coming off their bye week for the first time under Harbaugh.
The setback against Cleveland snapped Baltimore's 11-game winning streak in the series; it was the Ravens' third straight loss and fourth in their last five games this season. Baltimore has trailed at halftime in each of those five games and has been behind at some point in every game this season.
The Ravens' last four losses have come by a combined total of 14 points.
Baltimore didn't have left guard Kelechi Osemele (back) available for the Cleveland game and likely won't for the rest of this season. Osemele had made 27 consecutive starts on the offensive line since the Ravens made him a second-round pick in 2012.
Quarterback Joe Flacco led the Ravens in rushing with 25 yards on three carries against the Browns. Baltimore amassed just 55 yards on the ground and averaged 2.6 yards per carry in Cleveland.
The Ravens released a couple of their veteran free-agent additions prior to the Cleveland game. Safety Michael Huff (Oakland) appeared in seven games with one start for Baltimore and defensive end Marcus Spears (Dallas) started one game and played in five for the Ravens.
CINCINNATI: The Bengals (6-3) visit Baltimore this Sunday and then host Cleveland. Coach Marvin Lewis is 4-6 in Baltimore and the Andy Dalton-A.J. Green Bengals have yet to win there.
Dalton threw three interceptions and was sacked for a safety in overtime in a 22-20 loss on Oct. 31 at Miami. The Bengals also lost a fumble in the Miami game and are minus-4 in turnover ratio on the season. Cincinnati is plus-32 in turnover ratio under Lewis and has finished with a minus total just twice in his first 10 seasons.
The Bengals lost defensive tackle Geno Atkins (ACL) for the season in Miami. With defensive end Robert Geathers also out of the season and defensive tackle Devon Still (elbow) inactive for the Miami game, the Bengals' defensive line depth was stretched thin. Defensive linemen Carlos Dunlap (97 percent) and Michael Johnson (94 percent) played almost all of the defensive snaps against the Dolphins.
Rookie running back Giovani Bernard had a career-high 79 yards and two rushing touchdowns at Miami.
CLEVELAND: The Browns improved to 4-5 by beating the Ravens for the first time since 2007, the last time they were 4-5 after nine games.
The Browns will have their bye this weekend and then play at Cincinnati and host Pittsburgh. Cleveland beat Cincinnati, 17-6, on Sept. 29 in Cleveland.
Coach Rob Chudzinski went for two more fourth-down conversions against the Ravens and was successful on both attempts. The first resulted in a touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the Baltimore 1-yard line in the second quarter. The second occurred on fourth-and-1 from the Baltimore 43 with 3:12 left and Cleveland ahead, 21-18. The extended drive ultimately resulted in a field goal and used up all but the last 17 seconds of regulation. Cleveland has 10 fourth-down conversions on an NFL-high 19 attempts this season.
The Browns lost punt returner Travis Benjamin (ACL) for the season on Oct. 27 at Kansas City. Benjamin set a franchise single-game record with 179 yards in punt returns, including a 79-yard touchdown, on Oct. 3 against Buffalo.
