Titans Set to Take on Browns in Matchup of Teams with Four Combined Wins

The Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns are both at the bottom of their respective divisions. They are both starting rookie quarterbacks.

Both teams also struggle to score points. The Browns have scored 20 or more points in only three games this season (winning two of them). The Titans have scored 20 or more points in only four games, losing three of them.

So, what separates these two teams?

Defense.

The Browns have a stable defense, led by the one-man wrecking crew that is Myles Garrett. In the Browns’ three wins, their defense allowed 10 points or fewer. Garrett is a big reason why the Browns can stay competitive in games. He is on pace to break the NFL single-season sack record. Garrett has 19 sacks. The record is 22.5, held jointly by T.J. Watt (in 2021) and Michael Strahan (in 2001).

Garrett is likely going to break the record. It is not crazy to think he could break it against the Titans. The Titans have had a suspect offensive line in recent years. The days of Taylor Lewan, Ben Jones, and co. are long gone.

This season is no different. Cam Ward has been sacked 48 times.

In 12 games.

Ouch. Literally.

Garrett is going to rip the Titans’ O-Line to shreds. The sack record is his, and he will claim it even sooner than some may think.

Say your prayers for Cam Ward now. He will need them.

With that being said, the Titans have been able to keep themselves in games, often thanks to their own defense.

Jeffery Simmons is not Myles Garrett, but he is a world-class player that the Titans are lucky to have. The rest of the Titans’ defense is filled with a mix of youth and experience. Players like Cody Barton, Cedric Gray, Darrell Baker Jr., Amani Hooker, and Kevin Winston Jr. are all competent NFL starters.

Hooker is questionable for the Browns game with a rib injury that he suffered in the Titans’ blowout loss to the Jaguars last week.

As for the Titans’ offense, Ward and the other rookies have played well recently (except for the Jags game), and Tony Pollard has started to run the ball a little better after a slow start to the season.

Prediction

With Myles Garrett breathing down his neck all day, Cam Ward will likely struggle again. He will probably turn the ball over a couple of times. But if the Titans can make life difficult for Shedeur Sanders and the Browns’ offense, they might still have a chance to get their second win of the season. Wins don’t really matter for the Titans or Browns at this point in the season. Both teams will play freely with nothing to lose. It will be an entertaining and probably low-scoring game.

Browns 17, Titans 9