The Tennessee Titans (1-1) are set to face the Cleveland Browns (1-1) on Sunday. Both of these teams had polar opposite outcomes in Week 2.
Tennessee is coming off an exhilarating overtime win, where the team looked revitalized in all three phases by the end of the game.
Buy Titans TicketsThe Browns lost a close game to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night after turning the ball over four times. In the process, Cleveland lost one of its best players to a brutal, season-ending injury, and their $230 million quarterback struggled to make routine plays.
As we rapidly approach kickoff, there are several intriguing matchups to keep our eyes on.
Whether it’s Ryan Tannehill trying to outduel DeShaun Watson, Mike Vrabel trying to outsmart Kevin Stefanski, or Shane Bowen just trying to get a better showing from his defense than his old mentor, Jim Schwartz, this contest has multiple intriguing matchups that will undoubtedly impact Sunday’s game.
With that said, this article is going to focus on the three matchups that we believe will play the most significant roles in determining who wins and loses.
Let’s not waste anymore time and dive right into this week’s key matchups.
Titans defensive line vs. Browns’ offensive line
If the Titans are going to win this game, their talented defensive line has to wreak havoc against a struggling Browns offensive line.
Through two weeks, Cleveland is ranked 11th overall in pass blocking and 24th in run blocking, per Pro Football Focus.
If it seems like the #Browns offensive line is struggling through the first two weeks, here's why:
Run blocking grades (30+ snaps):
– LT Jedrick Wills: 38.7 (54th of 57)
– LG Joel Bitonio: 60.8 (27th of 58)
– C Ethan Pocic: 71.4 (7th of 31)
– RG Wyatt Teller: 72.6 (8th of 58)
-… pic.twitter.com/u4ZmPyc9ba— The Dawgs – A Cleveland Browns Podcast (@thedawgspodcast) September 20, 2023
The offensive tackle positions are especially vulnerable, with rookie Dawand Jones (46.7) and Jedrick Willis (45.0) combining for an average overall grade of 45.85 after two games.
To add some more context to their collective struggles, out of 70 eligible tackles, Jones and Willis rank Nos. 61 and 66, respectively, after allowing a combined two sacks and committing three penalties between the two of them.
Fortunately for Cleveland, its interior is holding up much better. According to PFF, center Ethan Pocic (71.5), left guard Joel Bitonio (67.2), and right guard Wyatt Teller (71.9) have combined for an average grade of 70.2.
However, this group is going to have its hands full, as Jeffery Simmons (73.0), Denico Autry (74.1) and Teair Tart (66.2) await them. The trio has produced a respectable combined overall grade of its own to start the season (71.1).
For my $, the best DT in football over the first two weeks has been Jeffery Simmons. My big question after these last few seasons is can he sustain this level of play during the second half of the season? Special, special player. pic.twitter.com/5NLjKt73TR
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) September 18, 2023
Tennessee’s interior trio is arguably the main reason why the Titans have been one of the best run defenses in all of football since the beginning of last year.
It should be noted that Autry is listed as questionable with foot and groin injuries, and even though it’s unlikely that he sits tomorrow, his status still bears watching going forward.
Nevertheless, with the Browns losing Nick Chubb for the year, this could be a situation where they’re forced to be one-dimensional, which should boost the Titans’ chances of leaving Cleveland with a win as long as they don’t produce any self-inflicted wounds.
As for the Titans’ edge rushers, this could be a perfect opportunity for Arden Key and Harold Landry to get back on track and build some positive momentum for themselves.
Both were held relatively in check for most of last week’s game against the Chargers, although Landry did come up huge sack to help force overtime.
Not a bad time for your first sack of the season @HaroldLandry
📺: Watch #LACvsTEN on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/N2pg6biBhL
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) September 17, 2023
Key in particular had a quiet day after being a menace in the season-opener in which he recorded 11 pressures and 1.5 sacks. Despite his struggles when lined up against Rashawn Slater last week, Key still ranks among the NFL’s best when it comes to getting after the quarterback.
According to Next Gen Stats, the LSU product has produced the third-highest quarterback pressure percentage (25.4 percent) in the NFL among those who qualify (minimum 30 pass-rush snaps).
The #Titans have two edge rushers ranking inside the top 5 of pass rush win rate:
•No. 3: Arden Key, 11 wins on 36 attempts (31%)
•No. 4: Denico Autry 6 wins on 20 attempts (30%)Note: Autry lines up everywhere, so his attempts are naturally going to be lower than a pure EDGE pic.twitter.com/Z65IeSaOfy
— Shaun Calderon (@ShaunMichaels31) September 20, 2023
Truthfully, it’s hard to realistically expect this to be the week that the Titans’ run defense falls apart, so if Tennessee’s pass-rush can wreak havoc on Sunday, it should go a long way toward helping the team head back to Nashville with a 2-1 record.
OTs Andre Dillard and Chris Hubbard vs. DEs Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith
In all honesty, this is the matchup that could ruin the Titans’ afternoon. Both Chris Hubbard and Andre Dillard have done a solid job through two weeks.
Unfortunately, they’re about to face one of the best tandems off the edge when they face both Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith.
On the Titans’ front, Hubbard has surprisingly been stout all around since he was signed back in July. According to ESPN, Hubbard actually owns the second-highest pass-block win rate (97 percent), allowing just one quarterback hurry and zero quarterback hits or sacks en route to earning an impressive pass-block grade of 81.3, per Pro Football Focus.
Hubbard also happens to be coming off a Week 2 game where he received respectable grades of 78.8 in pass blocking and 68.7 in the run game.
Meanwhile, Dillard is presently listed as ESPN’s ninth-best run-blocking offensive tackle, earning an impressive run-block win rate of 83 percent. Unfortunately, he’s coming off a borderline horrendous game in pass protection, receiving a grade of 51.1.
Heading into Week 3, PFF has the Washington State product tied for the most sacks allowed through two games with three. That’s less than ideal considering he’s set to face a truly special talent in Garrett.
The Titans allow a sack on 12.1% of their dropbacks this season, 4th-highest of any team.
The Browns' average time to pressure of 2.1 seconds is the fastest of any team in the NFL. Plus, Cleveland has allowed just 1 offensive touchdown in 2 games. pic.twitter.com/vjS9PnTd2V
— Jordan Dajani (@JordanDajani) September 20, 2023
Garrett is heading into Sunday’s showdown being ranked inside the top 10 in both run stop win rate (No. 3, 43 percent) and pass-rush win rate (No. 9, 26 percent) among all edge defenders.
Adding to that, the All-Pro defender currently owns an elite overall grade of 92.1, per PFF.
The guy on the other side isn’t too shabby, either. Smith owns the second-highest pass-rush win rate at the moment, winning approximately 33 percent of his pass-rush attempts through two contests (seven-of-21).
Knowing where Garrett is and having a plan of attack to neutralize his impact must be the No. 1 priority every single time he’s out on the field. The Texas A&M product is capable of lining up all across the front line, but it’s hard to imagine that he won’t be testing Tennessee’s tackle tandem early and often.
Hubbard does have plenty of experience lining up across from No. 95 since the two of them were teammates together for fives years, so he undoubtedly knows Garrett’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities as well as anybody, but the same can also be said the other way around.
If the Titans’ revamped offensive line wants to emphatically prove that this group is ready to take that next step as a unit, they have to find a way to slow down the tandem of Garrett and Smith on Sunday.
Titans' rushing offense vs. Browns’ run defense
For the reasons we just discussed, it could be difficult for the Titans’ passing offense to take control of this game. Therefore, Tennessee will likely have to rely on one of the best running back tandems in the NFL if the team wants to leave Cleveland with a second-consecutive victory.
Everyone knows about Derrick Henry at this point, but it’s the addition of Tyjae Spears to the offense that has undoubtedly been electric early on this season.
#Titans rookie RB Tyjae Spears currently ranks 4th in the NFL in yards after contact per attempt, 2nd in missed tackles forced per attempt, and 2nd in PFF’s elusiveness rating metric.
I actually think Tim Kelly swung too far the other direction this week with Henry/Spears usage. pic.twitter.com/lC79BpWQwa
— Mike Herndon (@MikeHerndonNFL) September 19, 2023
Back in Week 1, the rookie running back averaged nine yards per carry, albeit on only three carries. His workload more than doubled last weekend, rushing the ball eight times for 49 yards while averaging over six yards per carry.
Spears’ explosiveness is honestly the perfect complement to Henry’s bruising running style. Even though the former Offensive Player of the Year hasn’t had his customary monster run just yet, he’s still producing at a very high level, tallying at least 95 total yards in each of the first two contests.
In total, the Titans’ two running backs have collectively produced a whopping 297 yards of total offense and one touchdown.
Unsurprisingly, their success has helped to make Ryan Tannehill’s job much easier as well by helping to open up the play-action passing game.
Ryan Tannehill was productive using play action in the Titans Week 2 victory, completing 7 of 9 passes for 168 yards.
Tannehill has averaged 11.8 yards per attempt using play action since 2022, 1.6 yards more than any other QB.#LACvsTEN | #Titans pic.twitter.com/UZRJEFKZ8d
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 17, 2023
If the Browns are able to take away the run and eliminate the threat of play-action, that could force Tannehill to be a pure drop-back passer, which would be less than ideal when he’s facing the two pass-rushers we discussed in the previous section.
Unfortunately, establishing the run is easier said than done against this group. Henry and Spears are set to face a Browns defense that is actually tied with Tennessee for the fourth-stingiest group in the league, allowing just 65 rushing yards per game.
In order for Tennessee to go into the month of October with a winning record, Henry and Spears are probably going to need to eclipse that mark. Otherwise, it could be a long day for the entire offense.
