The Cleveland Browns may be the sexy team in the NFL right now, but I don’t expect this game against the Tennessee Titans to be a very sexy one. A match-up like this one calls for a conservative game plan. With two solid defenses, I expect it to be much more boring than the fireworks fans are expecting out of the 2019 Browns.
Right now, the Browns are heavily favored at home. ESPN’s match predictor gimmick gives the Browns a 65.2 percent chance of winning. Las Vegas has the spread at Browns by five. Given all of the hype of the preseason, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who’s actually going to pick the Titans to win this game. But, I think the Titans are actually well equipped to do just that.
So, what do the Titans have to do to pick up a win on the road to kick off the 2019 campaign?
Eat up the Browns offensive line
Outside of Joel Bitonio, the Browns are a mess along the offensive line. This is a matchup that should have the Titans defensive line licking their chops.
Jurrell Casey and company should have a big day against this unit, and they’ll need to. The one thing the Titans defense can’t do is allow Baker Mayfield to get comfortable. They have to agitate him and harass him all day, but they also can’t allow him to escape the pocket and extend plays. I like the Titans secondary, and Malcolm Butler has shown he can hang with Odell Beckham, Jr., but you’re asking a lot of your secondary if you’re going to ask them to cover these talented Browns weapons for extended periods of the game.
So, that starts with quick pressure, sacks, and a stout Titans defensive line taking advantage of a Browns offensive line that is still trying to sort itself out.
Run the damn ball
Like I said, a conservative game plan. The Titans have a mess of their own to sort out along the offensive line, and they don’t want to get into a situation in which they’re playing on skates against a fierce Browns pass rush featuring Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon.
Feeding Derrick Henry and establishing the run will serve a few purposes.
Namely, it would help to negate that Browns pass rush. It would also keep the ball on the ground and not anywhere near Denzel Ward and that talented Browns secondary.
But, it would also allow the Titans to control the tempo and offer another way to contain Mayfield and the Browns offense…by keeping them off the field altogether.
Attack the middle of the field
As nice as it sounds, I don’t think it’s very realistic to expect Henry to line up and tote the rock 80 times, chewing up 48 minutes of the game in the process. The Titans are going to have to throw the ball, but there’s an opportunity for the passing game to be productive.
The soft spot of that Browns defense is definitely the linebacking corps. I’m eager to see how Corey Davis stacks up against a guy like Ward, but I don’t think you’ll see Arthur Smith calling a ton of deep throws. This is a good game for the Titans to work the intermediate game. Delanie Walker is back and healthy. Adam Humphries is excellent in the slot. But, I imagine those guys will get plenty of attention from the Browns defense. This could be a big Tajae Sharpe game, a guy who has a knack for first downs, and being in the right place at the right time, exploiting the Browns focus on the other Titans receivers.
Like I said, the Titans are well equipped to execute on these ideas, and I think they will…Titans 20, Browns 19.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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