Ravens Are About to Get Zapped!

Bailey Zappe gets the start for the Browns on Saturday afternoon at The Bank against the Ravens. Zappe was the New England Patriots 2022 4th-round pick out of Western Kentucky. He was a Patriot for two seasons before being waived. Zappe was later signed to the Chiefs practice squad in August of 2024 and then in October, he was signed to the Browns active 53-man squad after Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.

Zappe has played in 14 NFL games and has 8 starts to his credit. During those games he’s thrown 11 TD passes and 12 interceptions with a passer rating of 78.5. Zappe has never stepped on the field against the Ravens.

Browns QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson has been fighting through a calf injury but was a full participant during the Browns practice on Thursday. He has no injury designation so it should surprise no one that if Zappe gets zapped by the Ravens defense, that DTR steps on the field in relief.

Betting Line

The line on Saturday’s Ravens game has swelled to 20 points. That seems like a massive line, particularly for a divisional game. Perhaps the consensus is that the Browns will simply mail it in, or they just can’t field a competitive team given the massive injury list that was published yesterday.

Some betting 411 if you’re so inclined to take or lay the 20 points:

• Cleveland is 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games.
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland’s last 5 games.
• Cleveland is 0-5 SU in their last 5 games.
• Cleveland is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against Baltimore.
• Cleveland is 6-12 SU in their last 18 games against Baltimore.
• Cleveland is 0-7 SU in their last 7 games on the road.
• Cleveland is 3-13 SU in their last 16 games when playing on the road against Baltimore.

Purple Friday

I remember the days when Purple Friday was really a thing. Fans across the Land of Pleasant Living soaked themselves in purple – a hat, hoodie, jersey, jacket, pins, buttons, scarves or all the above. Posts on social media honoring, even celebrating Purple Friday were frequent.

But today, there’s no denying that the enthusiasm for Purple Friday has fallen off precipitously. And I wonder why that is. The Ravens have been consistent winners with Lamar Jackson as the starting quarterback; they’ve been quite successful on National TV; and they are oftentimes featured on sports talk shows across most radio and TV platforms if for no other reason than they are a fun team to watch.

I’m curious to know if you agree that Purple Friday isn’t such a big deal anymore and if you do agree, what’s the problem? What are the root causes for the waning enthusiasm? Are we no longer entertained?

Let us know in the comments section below of if you prefer, drop us a note at: in**@ru*****************.com.

Week 18 is a Dud!

Several games on the Week 18 slate are irrelevant:

• Texans at Titans
• Bills at Patriots
• Jaguars at Colts
• Giants at Eagles
• Seahawks at Rams
• 49ers at Cardinals

In other words, 37.5% of the games don’t mean squat in the standings. That has to make Vegas a bit restless and those who sponsor the NFL can’t be all that happy about the development.

Might an 18-game schedule add to this NFL dilemma and the number of meaningless games?

Prop Your A$$ Up!

Prop bets are a fun way to add a little spice to the entertainment value of any NFL game. Our guy Colin Russell has done a nice job this season with his Ravens prop bet advice. Here’s a look at some player incentives that hang in the balance heading into Week 18. This info should help you sift through the many props on the various betting apps to help give the irrelevant aforementioned games a little lift in entertainment value this weekend.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Maybe we’ll get our biological clocks back in sync by Monday, when we celebrate the Ravens AFC North title and get you set for the Wild Card playoff game against the Chargers (at least that’s what I think).

Ravens 28, Browns 7

[Related Article: Ravens Hot Takes]

The post Ravens Are About to Get Zapped! appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/01/03/tltakes/zappe-starts-for-browns/