Why on Earth the NFL wouldn’t want to flex out of that Broncos-Chiefs inevitable bloodbath on Sunday Night Football when you’ve got an appealing AFC showdown between 8-3 teams is beyond me. But, the NFL gonna NFL, I guess. The Tennessee Titans are set to host the Cleveland Browns at high noon at Nissan Stadium in a game that has major playoff ramifications in the AFC.
These two teams aren’t so different in their compositions – both feature running backs that can be considered among the elite in the NFL. Actually, hell – if you ask me, I’d put Derrick Henry and Nick Chubb in the conversation with Dalvin Cook and Christian McCaffrey as the current top four.
That’s going to make for a tough slugfest type of game as these two battering rams attempt to break down the door of the opponent. The Titans are coming off a two-game win streak over the Ravens and Colts during which they’ve looked like a hella physical football team. The Browns have won three in a row, and will look to clinch their first winning season in a long ass time.
ESPN’s Match-up Predictor gives the Titans a (surprisingly, in my opinion) 67% chance of winning this game. The oddsmakers have the Titans listed around a 5.5-point favorite, with an over/under set at 53. This is a big game – again, would’ve been perfect for prime time, but what the hell do I know?
Keys to Victory: vs. Browns
Put it on Baker Mayfield
I know ‘stop the run’ is easier said than done when it comes to this Browns offense, but if you’re the Titans, you certainly feel like you’ll improve your chances to win this game if you can force Baker Mayfield to beat you throwing the ball. He has four touchdowns and five interceptions against teams with winning records this season (the Browns are also 1-3 in those games, for what it’s worth).
The Browns are 30th in the NFL in passing yards per game – spoiler alert, there are only 32 teams in the NFL. If the Titans can keep Chubb and Hunt from getting going, this could be a tall ask of the Browns vertical passing game. Though Kevin Byard has had his fair share of struggles this season, he seems to own the Browns, so maybe this is the get-right game for the Mayor of Murfreesboro!
Help the offensive line vs. Myles Garrett
The Browns have to be lickin’ their chops to see David Quessenberry at left tackle, given Myles Garrett will be back for this one. Garrett is an absolute freak of nature – if you’re building a defense from scratch, for the future, in today’s NFL, I don’t know if there’s a more appealing pass rusher to build around than Garrett.
Quessenberry played well, surprisingly well, against the Colts. But, let’s be real – that defensive front wasn’t what it was two weeks prior to that game. Not to sell the big man short, but this is going to be another big test for him.
Missing Jonnu Smith will be huge in this regard. He wasn’t showing up on the stat sheets, but was killing it blocking in the run game. I expect the Titans to give the offensive line plenty of help from the tight ends, etc., but it should absolutely be a priority to keep an eye on Garrett all afternoon.
Exploit the Browns secondary
AJ Brown and Corey Davis are HOT right now, and the Browns secondary is STRUGGGGGLIN’ to boot. If you listened to my conversation with Jack this week (embedded below, if you haven’t), you can hear the outright concern in that man’s voice when I asked him who was going to cover Brown with all of the injuries in that Browns secondary.
This is the perfect recipe for a big King Henry game with a couple of big plays to Brown/Davis to break the Browns’ back. Ultimately, I think this one’s going to be fun well into the 4th quarter – AGAIN, WHY DIDN’T YOU PUT THIS ON SUNDAY NIGHT, GUYS?!?!?!
Don’t forget to check out our friends at MANSCAPED this holiday season! Use promo code ‘SOBROSTITANS’ for 20% off your entire order and free shipping. Owen Reed and I celebrated the big win over the Colts, and then I chat with our long time friend Jack Kopanski to preview the Browns on the latest episode of The Unofficial Titans Podcast. You can check this week’s show out here:
Listen to “Ep. 47: Previewing the Cleveland Browns with Jack Kopanski” on Spreaker.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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