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CLEVELAND — On one sideline Monday night you had hope.



The Baltimore Ravens are a talented team that has simply had its share of struggles. If not for a missed kick here, a blown coverage there, the Ravens would be better than their 5-4 record and considered a strong contender in the AFC.



On the other sideline you had the hopeless.



The Cleveland Browns are every bit as bad as their 1-8 record indicates. Maybe worse, if that’s possible. They are a team lacking in talent, smarts, health and resilience. And at this point there is nothing left to do for the Browns but play out what’s left of their miserable season.



Baltimore’s 16-0 victory Monday over Cleveland told only the immediate story — even on an off night, the Ravens are considerably better than the lowly Browns.



These two teams couldn’t be any more different.



Baltimore has a franchise quarterback in Joe Flacco. Cleveland is playing musical chairs at the league’s most important position.



Baltimore has leaders in its locker room. Cleveland does not.



Baltimore is still fighting to make something of this year. Cleveland looks like a team willing to accept 13, 14 or maybe even 15 losses.



Perhaps the biggest irony is that the Ravens were once the Browns, before former Cleveland owner Art Modell skipped town and took his franchise to Baltimore. But since 1999 the Browns have drowned in the abyss of losing and despair, and a decade later they’re headed for one of their worst seasons in franchise history.



“It’s frustrating,” said Browns quarterback Brady Quinn.



Things were much more relaxed in the Ravens’ locker room Monday.



Baltimore didn’t play very well, either, but the team had several building blocks to hang its hat on.



The Ravens’ defense held an opponent scoreless for the first time this season. Baltimore registered four sacks and its offense rushed for 134 yards on 36 hard-fought attempts. Ray Rice led the way with 89 rushing yards and a touchdown.



The victory also puts Baltimore right back in the playoff mix.



Currently the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) and San Diego Chargers (6-3) are one game ahead of the Ravens for the two AFC wild-card spots. The Ravens own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Chargers and still have to play Pittsburgh twice this season.



“We’re done with the first half of the season,” Ravens running back Le’Ron McClain said. “Now we’re trying to get this second half. So we’re 1-0 in my eyes in the second season.”



The Browns had two weeks to prepare for the start of their “second season,” but it looked much like the first.



Quinn couldn’t move the offense. He finished 13-of-31 for 99 yards and an abysmal 23.5 passer rating.



According to ESPN Stats & Information, Quinn was 0-for-7 on throws beyond 10 yards. Cleveland has little hope for improving offensively if the team cannot go downfield. The Browns registered just 160 total yards behind very timid play calling.



Adding to an awful night was an injury on the final play of the game to return specialist Josh Cribbs, who is arguably the team’s best player. Cribbs took a shot at the end of the game from Ravens defensive end Dwan Edwards that required Cribbs to be carted off the field.



Browns coach Eric Mangini said Cribbs had movement and feeling in all parts of his body afterward.



“The reason we took him off was more of a precautionary measure than anything else,” Mangini said.



According to Mangini, there is progress taking place with the Browns. But if the in-game performance is the biggest indicator, Cleveland fans probably don’t have much hope for progression this season.



But Baltimore is looking ahead.



It’s an uphill climb, but Baltimore likely needs at least five more wins in the final seven games to have a legitimate shot at the postseason. That road continues this Sunday with another high-profile game against the undefeated Indianapolis Colts (9-0).



“I’m already thinking about it,” an excited Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said. “Why not?”



At least the hopeful Ravens have something to look forward to.

For 30 minutes, the Baltimore Ravens were inefficient, unproductive and disorganized. In 17 seconds, they changed all that. Ray Rice scored on a 13-yard run and safety Dawan Landry returned an interception of Brady Quinn 48 yards for a touchdown on Cleveland’s next play as the Ravens overcame a horrendous start for a 16-0 win over the hapless Browns on Monday night.

CLEVELAND — Despite a high-scoring offense and a new franchise quarterback in Joe Flacco, the Baltimore Ravens proved Monday night that they can still win ugly.



In a game that looked it involved the 2000 Ravens and not the 2009 Ravens, Baltimore pitched a shutout defensively and scraped together enough points to take a 16-0 victory over the Cleveland Browns. The win improved the Ravens to 5-4 and keeps Baltimore in the playoff hunt in a crowded AFC field. The Browns, meanwhile, fell to 1-8 in what’s already a lost season.



Baltimore, which started slow, really needed this win.



The Ravens likely have to get to 10 wins to have a shot at the postseason in January and have an important pair of upcoming home games. It starts with the undefeated Indianapolis Colts (9-0) on Nov. 22 and then the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) on Nov. 29.



Baltimore will have to play a lot better than it did Monday to beat those two AFC contenders. But a win over the Browns Monday counts the same in the standings.

CLEVELAND — Browns starting quarterback Brady Quinn went from a non-eventful first half to an eventful third quarter. But the exciting plays Quinn was involved in weren’t good ones for the Browns.



Quinn has two interceptions in the third quarter that led to nine second-half points. Baltimore currently leads 16-0.



Both of Quinn’s throws were off and landed into the hands of Ravens’ defensive backs. The first was thrown to Baltimore safety Dawan Landry in stride and the second was deflected and interception by Chris Carr.



Cleveland’s play calling continues to be conservative despite trailing by double-digits in the second half. Fans are starting to exit the stadium and the ones still here are restless.

CLEVELAND — The scoring drought is over.



Mercifully.



Baltimore Ravens tailback Ray Rice rushed for a 13-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead over the Cleveland Browns. Both teams played an ugly first half of scoreless football.



There was some confusion on defense from the Browns as players were out of position on the scoring play. Head coach Eric Mangini and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan were discussing what happened to try to get some answers.



On Cleveland’s next offensive play, quarterback Brady Quinn threw a pick-six to Ravens safety Dawan Landry to give Baltimore a 13-0 lead. The extra point attempt failed for Baltimore.

CLEVELAND — The Browns and Baltimore Ravens remain scoreless at intermission.



Here are some halftime observations:

• The Browns are playing better than expected defensively. They are getting to the quarterback with two sacks and putting Baltimore in tough situations. It’s clear at this juncture that Cleveland’s defense is the stronger half of this team.
• I’m surprised the Ravens could not establish themselves as the dominant team early in this game. Baltimore looks flat, particularly on offense. This is a must-win game for the Ravens, but the undermanned Browns are playing with more zeal behind their home crowd.
• It’s hard to get a read on Cleveland starting quarterback Brady Quinn. He made a few good throws in addition to some awful throws. I would classify his performance so far as “average” and “nothing spectacular.” The offensive play calling is still very conservative with Quinn under center. He is 6 of 12 for 63 yards.
• The Ravens are going to Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain more than they have in recent weeks. Baltimore’s coaching staff must feel this is the type of physical, division game late in the year that those two can do the most damage. The pair have combined for six carries to 16 yards and an addition 17 yards receiving from McClain.
• Oddity of the night: The Ravens were penalized twice for having 12 men on the field in the first half. That’s not very sharp. Overall this wasn’t a very exciting half of football. There is no flow to this game and a lot of penalties on both sides.

CLEVELAND — It was just announced in the press box that Baltimore Ravens reserve defensive back Haruki Nakamura has a broken right ankle.



Nakamura suffered the injury on the opening play of the game between the Ravens and Cleveland Browns. He was carted off the field.



This type of injury confirms that Nakamura will be out for the remainder of the 2009 season.