TENNESSEE (1-1) at CLEVELAND (1-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE: Browns by 3.
SERIES RECORD: Browns lead 36-32.
LAST MEETING: Browns beat Titans 41-35 on Dec. 6, 2020, in Nashville, Tennessee.
LAST WEEK: Titans beat Chargers 27-24 in OT; Browns misplaced 26-22 to Pittsburgh.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Titans 2-0; Browns 1-1.
TITANS OFFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (11), PASS (22), SCORING (20)
TITANS DEFENSE: OVERALL (20), RUSH (t-3), PASS (28), SCORING (11)
BROWNS OFFENSE: OVERALL (6), RUSH (1), PASS (26), SCORING (17)
BROWNS DEFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (t-3), PASS (t-2), SCORING (2)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Titans minus-1; Browns minus-4.
TITANS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Ryan Tannehill. The veteran bounced again from the worst passer ranking of his profession in a gap loss in New Orleans by finishing a career-best 83.3% of his passes. He rallied Tennessee from an 11-point deficit to earn the twenty seventh game-winning drive of his profession. He had a TD and scoring go within the comeback.
BROWNS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Deshaun Watson. Two poor performances have raised considerations about whether or not he’s nonetheless rusty from his lengthy layoff or if his off-field points have shaken his confidence. Watson seems to be nothing just like the 2020 league passing chief, and it’s crucial he begins enjoying higher or the Browns might once more be headed for some main adjustments.
KEY MATCHUP: Browns DC Jim Schwartz vs. Tennessee’s offense. Schwartz has revived Cleveland’s protection, and he’s very accustomed to Titans three-time Professional Bowl RB Derrick Henry after being a senior defensive assistant in Tennessee the previous two seasons. However Henry now has assist in rookie Tyjae Spears for an offense that has averaged 125.5 yards rushiing per recreation.
KEY INJURIES: Titans LG Peter Skoronski is out a second straight recreation after an appendectomy on Sept. 16. Beginning S Amani Hooker will play after clearing the concussion protocol, and CB Kristian Fulton (hamstring) additionally will return after lacking final week. … Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins (ankle) and DL Denico Autry each are questionable. Autry already was on the harm report with a foot challenge however was restricted Friday after a groin harm. … Henry was on the harm report this week with a toe challenge. The Titans positioned rookie WR/KR Kearis Jackson on injured reserve with an injured ankle … Browns star RB Nick Chubb suffered a season-ending left knee harm in Monday’s loss to the Steelers. Chubb’s loss is a devastating blow to a staff that leans closely on the four-time Professional Bowler. … Browns beginning CB Greg Newsome II (elbow) is out after getting damage in opposition to the Steelers. … Browns WR Amari Cooper (shoulder, groin) and DE Za’Darius Smith (ankle, thigh) missed time this week however are anticipated to play.
SERIES NOTES: The Titans are 18-16 on the highway in opposition to the Browns. Tennessee routed Cleveland 43-13 within the 2019 opener. … Titans coach Mike Vrabel is 1-1 in opposition to Cleveland. … Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is 6-0 in opposition to the AFC South. … The Browns have posted profitable streaks of 9 and 6 video games within the collection. However the Titans have received 5 of the previous eight, together with their previous two visits to Cleveland.
STATS AND STUFF: The Titans have an NFL-best streak of eight straight video games of not permitting an opponent to achieve 100 yards dashing. In addition they haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in 18 consecutive video games. … The Titans held the Chargers to 2 of 14 on third downs (14.3%). … Tennessee has seven sacks. … The Titans have allowed eight sacks, together with 5 in final week’s win. … DL Denico Autry has a team-high 19 1/2 sacks since becoming a member of Tennessee in 2021. … Titans P Ryan Stonehouse set a franchise file in averaging 61.2 yards gross yards final week with a minimal of 4 punts. It was the NFL’s second-best mark for the reason that begin of the 1960 season. … Titans WR Treylon Burks’ 70-yard catch final week was the staff’s longest completion since Dec. 20, 2020. … Turnovers doomed the Browns in opposition to Pittsburgh. Watson’s first go was picked and returned for a TD 9 seconds into the sport. Later, he misplaced the ball on a fumble for a scoop and rating by Pittsburgh. … By way of two video games, Watson has accomplished simply 55.1% of his passes, a steep drop from his career-best (70.2) in 2020 when he led the league in passing with Houston. … With Chubb out, second-year RB Jerome Ford strikes into the starter’s position. Ford rushed for 106 yards on 16 carries in opposition to the Steelers and caught a TD go on the primary play after Chubb was carted off. … The Browns re-signed RB Kareem Hunt this week to again up Ford. Hunt spent 4 seasons with Cleveland, however was not retained as a free agent earlier than coming again in an emergency. … Cleveland’s 404 yards dashing lead the league and are essentially the most by a Browns staff by way of two video games since 1974. … Schwartz has shortly mounted Cleveland’s protection. The Browns have held groups to six of 29 (21%) on third downs, a league low. Additionally the Browns have allowed simply 15 first downs, 11 fewer than the next-closest staff. … Cleveland’s protection has not needed to contest one play within the crimson zone. … DE Myles Garrett has only one sack, however has been his traditional disruptive self. He’s the one participant with not less than 10 sacks in every of the previous 5 seasons.
FANTASY TIP: Henry has led the Titans in yards from scrimmage in every of the primary two video games. He additionally scored Tennessee’s first TD of 2023 final week. He’s struggled in opposition to Cleveland, averaging simply 41 yards in 4 video games. … His subsequent dashing TD will make him the seventh NFL participant within the Tremendous Bowl period to achieve 8,000 yards dashing and 80 dashing TDs inside his first eight seasons.
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