The Browns are back in Cleveland this week looking to bounce back against the Tennessee Titans who have also started the season 1-1. Cleveland’s defense has been fantastic to start the year under Jim Schwartz as his defensive line has set the tone in their two games so far. The team will be without corner Greg Newsome II this week but Denzel Ward and Martin Emerson Jr. have also been excellent to start the season.
The Titans’ offense and quarterback Ryan Tannehill have only scored one touchdown through the air in two weeks as Tannehill has thrown three interceptions. If there was ever a week that you could be down a corner this may be the week for the Browns to get Newsome healthy.
Buy Browns TicketsDefensively the passing defense for the Titans has struggled as they have allowed 563 yards through the year in two games. They will likely try to attack the Browns on the ground which continues to be the team’s bread and butter.
Here are my three biggest takeaways after watching the first two games the Titans have played this year.
The Titans' defensive line is the strength of the defense
Jeffery Simmons remains one of the league’s better interior defenders and that has shown through the team’s first two games. Simmons flat out gets pressure on the quarterback and through two games has a total of nine quarterback pressures and two sacks. His matchup against Wyatt Teller who struggled last week in pass protection will be key if the Browns don’t limit him it’ll be a problem.
Arden Key has been a great signing for the team outside of Jeffery Simmons and can create a ton of pressure. This defensive line is big and strong and can get after the quarterback. The secondary is weak but if you can’t hold up long enough for the quarterback to get rid of the ball it could be a long day Sunday.
The offensive line can struggle in pass protection
It isn’t always on the offensive line when a sack occurs if the quarterback hangs onto the ball too long. So far through the first two games Ryan Tannehill has been sacked eight times as a combination of back left tackle play and holding onto the ball too long. Tannehill tends to just hold onto the ball at times and it showed in the first two games.
Former Brown Chris Hubbard has been playing well at right tackle but overall they just aren’t getting it done in pass protection. If the Titans don’t use the short and quick passing game to get the ball out of Tannehill’s hand the Browns defensive line could shine.
You can throw on the Titans' pass defense
Especially without Nick Chubb, it will be really hard to run against the Titans’ defensive line so the Browns will need to throw to win Sunday. If they can hold against the good pass rush you can find success against this team’s defensive backs. There have been a few different times where coverage was just busted and players were wide open.
It’s a big ask for Watson and the passing offense to improve significantly after the performance they gave last week. But if there is a matchup to help gain some confidence it would be this week against the Titans.
