Browns DC Jim Schwartz aims to 'take the fight' to Lamar Jackson, Ravens in Week 4

Through three weeks, Cleveland's defense is playing at a rate unseen in the city since the days of Bill Belichick and Nick Saban.

Lamar Jackson didn't exist back then, but he certainly does now, and he's bringing his Ravens to Cleveland this weekend. After falling in overtime to the Colts at a soggy M&T Bank Stadium last weekend, Jackson might have to carry his banged-up team -- which listed 11 players on its Wednesday injury report -- to victory.

Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is well aware of Jackson's rare abilities and is planning to prevent such an outcome by sticking to his approach.

"You can err on the other side of Lamar Jackson," Schwartz said Thursday. "If you sit there and chew the chickens, as we say, you're not gonna get him either. We're gonna rely on our team speed, we're gonna rely on team defense, we're gonna rely on running through with leverage and try to take the fight to him as opposed to sitting back and trying to hem him in."

While we might never know exactly what "chew the chickens" means (it's likely related to lying in wait, hoping to prevent the big play), we know that Schwartz's group has turned plenty of offenses into chicken salad in Cleveland's first three games. The Browns rank first in points allowed per game, passing yards allowed per game and opposing three-and-out percentage. Cleveland is forcing teams to punt on the fourth snap of possessions at a rate of 61.5 percent, has surrendered just one offensive touchdown in 12 quarters, hasn't allowed an opponent to cross Cleveland's 10-yard line, and has held two opponents to three points each.

None of those offenses featured a talent like Jackson, though.

Just last week, Jackson completed 22 of 31 passes for 202 yards, and ran 14 times