Browns-Ravens rivalry

The Cleveland Browns–Baltimore Ravens rivalry is a rivalry in the National Football League which began in 1999, with the resumption of the expansion Browns' franchise, Created as a result of the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy, the rivalry between the Browns and Ravens was more directed at former Browns owner Art Modell than the team itself, and is simply considered a divisional game in Baltimore. Unlike the other two rivalries, this one is more lopsided: the Ravens lead 29–9.

Additionally, this matchup is more bitter for Cleveland than the others due to the fact that the draft picks for 1995 to 1998 resulted in the rosters that won the Super Bowl for the Ravens in 2000. Had the Browns stayed in Cleveland, these teams (drafted by general manager Ozzie Newsome) might have given the Browns the title after a 35-year drought. This bitterness was compounded when the Ravens won their second Super Bowl in 2012. The reactivated Cleveland Browns and many of their fans as well as the local news media maintain a hatred of Baltimore's team due to its move from Cleveland. The rivalry with the Browns has been very one-sided; Baltimore holds an advantage of 27-9 against Cleveland.

The two AFC North rivals have butted heads twice annually since 1999, when they represented the bygone AFC Central Division. The origin of the rivalry, of course, dates back two decades to when the original Browns deserted Cleveland for the promise of a new stadium and revenue streams in Baltimore.

The rivalry with the Ravens and the Browns' intrastate rival, Cincinnati Bengals]], mates of both in the AFC North, has been much closer, with the Ravens leading the all-time series 22-21 as of Week 3 of the 2017 NFL Season.

Notable people connected to rivalry

 * Art Modell - Modell angered many Clevelanders when he moved the Browns, but he instantly won the hearts of Baltimore fans almost instantly for bringing the NFL back to that city 12 years after then Baltimore Colts owner Robert Irsay packed his team and left for Indianapolis in moving vans in 1984. Although still villified by ardent Browns fans to this day, he still was intstrumental in helping his friend, then MBNA owner and minority investor Al Lerner, secure the purchase rights of what became the new expansion Browns franchise in 1999 in spring of 1996.
 * Ozzie Newsome - The legendary Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end, who played for the Browns from 1978-1990, has been a guru in evaluating talent since he followed Modell, who hired him in the Browns' front office in 1992, to Baltimore as the team's new director of player personnel, and then as the team's new GM in 2002, either helping the team draft or drafting such standout players as Hall of Fame players Ray Lewis, Jamal Lewis and Jonathan Ogden and QB Joe Flacco, and trading for or signing standout players such as Steve Smith, Sr. and Priest Holmes, which has. much to chagrin of Browns' fans, greatly contributed to the Ravens' dominance over Newsome's former teams.
 * Jamal Lewis - Played for the Ravens for six of his nine NFL seasons, where he regularly torched the Browns defenses, before he signed with the Browns in 2007, one of only two seasons where the Browns swept the season series from the Ravens, the other being 2001. Made the Pro Bowl in 2003 after rushing for 2,066 yards; in total, he rushed for 1,000 yards or more 5 of the six years there. In 2007, he was still efficient in rushing for 1,304 yards for the Browns, as he would follow that season up with rush totals of 1,002 yards in 2008 and 500 in 2009 before retiring as a Brown.==Game results==

General

 * Ravens vs. Browns series game results