NASHVILLE – Thirteen weeks into this NFL season, the Cleveland Browns are about to get a sense of just how good they might be. In their own way, so are the Tennessee Titans.
Sunday’s matchup of 8-3 teams in Nashville poses the biggest test yet for the Browns, who are second in the AFC North to the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers but have only one victory over a team currently with a winning record, an Oct. 11 triumph against the Indianapolis Colts. The Titans lead the AFC South after last Sunday’s lopsided win at Indianapolis to avenge a home loss to the Colts two weeks earlier.
Two of Cleveland’s other victories came via a division series sweep of the two-win Cincinnati Bengals, and the Browns also have wins against three members of the lowly NFC East and one each against the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars – by a combined five points – who make up the bottom half of the AFC South.
As for their defeats, the Browns were blown out in the season opener by the Baltimore Ravens, routed by the Steelers on Oct. 18 and lost 16-6 to the Las Vegas Raiders two weeks later, giving up the final 10 points in that game.
Still, this is the Browns’ best start since 1994, when they most recently began 9-3, as they target their first playoff berth since 2002. And now, with a three-game winning streak in hand, a chance to prove themselves has come back around.
“These are the things that we have been trying to build up to, and we are here now,” Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “We are in the middle of it, so let’s seize the moment.”
The Titans made a wild-card run to the AFC championship game last season, but they are chasing their first division title since 2008 – and avoiding a letdown will go a long way toward proving they’re really among the AFC’s best.
Tennessee deflated the Browns in Cleveland 43-13 in the 2019 opener but then struggled to a 2-4 start before making a change at quarterback and forging a path to the postseason with Ryan Tannehill taking the snaps and Derrick Henry running over and through defenses.
“Hopefully we’re going out there with an attitude that we’re going to be hunting every single week, regardless of what our record is,” said Titans coach Mike Vrabel, whose team has shown a knack for coming out on top in close games this season, including an overtime win at Baltimore last month.
This game pits the NFL’s top rushing offenses. The Browns have averaged a league-best 161.4 yards per game with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, while Henry has the Titans at No. 2 as he chases a second straight rushing title, having won the 2019 crown by 46 yards over Chubb.
“It’s going to be a good matchup against those guys,” said Henry, who as a pro has been at his best once the calendar flips to December. Since he was drafted in 2016, nobody has run for more yards or touchdowns in December than Henry, who has 1,511 yards, having averaged 5.38 yards per carry with 18 touchdowns.
He comes into his first December game this season having run for at least 100 yards in three straight games, including 178 against the Colts, giving him a league-best 1,257 rushing yards.
“His consistency is very admirable – his ability to play physical week in and week out, take hits and be seemingly unfazed by them,” Tannehill said. “Definitely want to keep him rolling as we get deep into December.”
Just in time to face the freight train that is Henry, Cleveland’s defense gets back its most pivotal player as star end Myles Garrett returns after missing two games with COVID-19.
Garrett was leading the NFL in sacks before getting sick. While the Browns managed to win twice without him, they weren’t the same, and his return provides a huge confidence boost.
“I’m not here to make a cameo appearance or a second-rate arrival,” he said. “I’m here to do the job that I was doing before. I don’t think there will be any drop-off. I wouldn’t give anything other than my best and I feel like that’s at the very top of the defensive line rankings.”
Garrett also spoke about what he went through while sidelined, describing his symptoms as moderate but saying he worried about long-term health problems.
“I lost my smell for almost two weeks, had the body aches, headaches, my eyes were hurting, coughing, sneezing, fever,” he said. “I was in pain.”
As for stopping Henry, Garrett said there’s no easy way to tackle the 6-foot-3, 247-pounder other than to just do it.
“You’ve got to get in there fearless,” Garrett explained, “find a body part, gator roll and bring him down.”
Simply keeping the ball out of Henry’s hands would help, of course, which can be accomplished with time of possession and takeaways. However, the Titans have the fewest turnovers in the NFL this season with just five through 11 games, and Tannehill has been a big key with only four interceptions.
Vrabel joked the reason why is coaches told Tannehill they’d bench him if he gets picked off.
“I think he studies. I think he has good vision. I think he’s decisive,” Vrabel said. “Sometimes interceptions occur when quarterbacks hold on to the football and second guess or are not really quite sure and they were a little late on it, and guys have had time to recover or make a better break on the football.”