The Tennessee Titans will look to keep the good times rolling in Week 3 when they travel to one of the most hostile environments in the NFL for a matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
The Titans are coming off a game in which they notched their first win of the year over the Los Angeles Chargers, which also ended an eight-game losing streak that dated back to last season.
Buy Titans TicketsMeanwhile, the Browns lost in more ways than one.
Not only did Cleveland drop a game to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 26-22, the Browns also lost star running back Nick Chubb, who suffered a season-ending injury.
The Titans have their own injury concerns going into this game, and those concerns make up two of our four burning questions ahead of Week 3.
Can Ryan Tannehill stack good games?
After a disastrous Week 1, Tannehill had a major bounce-back performance in Week 2, completing 20-of-24 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns, one of which came on the ground.
Nobody is ready to declare Tannehill fully back quite yet, but he can take another big step in the right direction with a second good game in a row against the Browns.
It won’t be easy, though.
Not only is Cleveland a tough place to play, the Browns are also tied for the second-best pass defense in the NFL (133.5 yards per game) and a good defensive front led by star pass-rusher, Myles Garrett.
Can Titans keep Myles Garrett in check?
In order for Tannehill to stack good games, he’s going to need help upfront. Last week, he barely got enough.
The Titans have faced some really good pass-rushers over the first two weeks of the season, but perhaps their toughest test yet comes in Week 3 against Myles Garrett.
Garrett has been quiet by his standards thus far with just one sack and nine pressures on the year, according to Pro Football Focus, but that also means he’s due for a big game, which is bad news for the visiting Titans.
We saw just how difficult a time the offensive line had with Joey Bosa last week, and Garrett is as good, if not better than him.
Garrett will do most of his work against left tackle Andre Dillard, which is a major concern considering how shaky Dillard has been over two weeks. It goes without saying the Titans must give him help.
Cleveland has also been deploying Garrett as a rusher from inside linebacker (in fact, that’s where his lone sack came from), so the interior of the offensive line has to be on its toes, as well.
Browns DE Myles Garrett had four snaps rushing from inside linebacker.
Sack
Incomplete
Incomplete
IncompleteGarrett had only 21 inside linebacker snaps in his previous six seasons.
New DC Jim Schwartz 👀
— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) September 11, 2023
Will offensive line get Peter Skoronski back?
Of the three starters with injuries, Skoronski might be the one least likely to play in Week 3.
The rookie left guard underwent an appendectomy last week that, depending on the type, can leave him sidelined anywhere from one to four weeks.
The Titans had a disaster in his stead early on, with second-year guard Xavier Newman struggling en route to being pulled in the second quarter in Week 2. Dillon Radunz stabilized things a bit and didn’t allow a sack, but he was tied for pressures given up with three.
That was a slight downgrade from Skoronski’s Week 1 showing, when the Northwestern product allowed a sack but only the one pressure. His return would no doubt provide a boost to an offensive line that struggled without him in Week 2.
Will secondary get Kristian Fulton, Amani Hooker back?
The secondary wasn’t great by any stretch last week, as the unit was still giving up too many big plays.
But considering it was short-handed in a tough matchup and didn’t have much of a pass-rush to help out, the secondary held its own and was good enough while coming up with key stops when the Titans needed it most.
While that’s all well and good, there’s no question this unit can’t reach its full potential if injury-plagued starters like Fulton (hamstring) and Hooker (concussion) aren’t on the field.
With Chubb out and the Titans a lock to shut down the run, the Browns are likely going to air it out early and often in order to challenge Tennessee’s secondary, making Fulton’s and Hooker’s presence even more important.
Fulton likely has a better chance to suit up than Hooker considering their respective injuries, but we’ll know more over the coming days once injury reports are revealed.
