Browns try to move on from crushing loss with critical game against Tennessee Titans
CLEVELAND — It's been a week for the Browns.
It started on the scoreboard Monday night, when a first-play interception return touchdown turned into Pittsburgh Steelers win. In the midst of that, the team's heart and soul, running back Nick Chubb sustained a season-ending knee injury, rattling his teammates emotionally as much as anything else.
Since then, there's been a sense of "here we go again" amongst Browns fans who have almost been trained to fear the worst when things go wrong the way they did in Pittsburgh, where it always seems to go wrong. That's been amplified by questions growing much louder about the play of the $230 million quarterback.
Oh, and the Browns had a shorter-than-normal week to get ready for their next game, Sunday afternoon against a Tennessee Titans team coming off the opposite kind of week. The Titans, led by Akron native Mike Vrabel, gutted out a 27-24 overtime win over an AFC playoff contender in the Los Angeles Chargers last week.
The path to 1-1 can go a variety of different ways, as it has for these two teams. At some point late Sunday afternoon, one's going to have taken a path to 2-1, and then other to 1-2.
The Browns know the path to the former requires them to stop looking back at the week that was for them.
"We had one less day to think about it, so we're back in here working," All-Pro left guard Joel Bitonio said Thursday. "It's already Thursday and I think the guys have a good mindset this week though, we understood what happened, but we're going to learn from that. And we're moving on to Tennessee and we know we have a big challenge for them. If you think about it too much, you're going to let it turn into more than one loss."
There's things within the loss, though, the Browns have to straighten out. The most notable of those is the play of quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has been inconsistent at best through two games this year.
There was the built-in excuse for his six-game debut a year ago, when he was coming off of an NFL suspension and a 700-day hiatus. There was even one for his season-opening performance against the Cincinnati Bengals, when a steady rain contributed to a 16-of-29, 154-yard, one-touchdown, one-interception performance in a win.
However, the only things Watson avoided in Pittsburgh was pressure, both from a Steelers' defensive front that helped to sack him six times and from the challenge of leading a road comeback in the Browns' own house of horrors. The quarterback struggled with throws high, low and wide while completing 22-of-40 passes for 235 yards with a touchdown, an interception and two fumbles, one of which was returned by T.J. Watt for the go-ahead touchdown.
“For myself, it’s just being on the same page with everybody else, and that's just going with the protection wise to the coverage wise to what we're thinking about with (head coach) Kevin (Stefanski)," Watson said Thursday. "If it's going to be a four-down situation, if it's a third-down situation, if I need to take the shots, if I don't need to take the shots and things like that. … It’s the NFL, every week is different, every week is a new challenge and you have to continue to grow and continue to get better.”
That'll need to accelerate with Chubb sidelined and the onus falling onto second-year running back Jerome Ford, who ran for 106 yards in Pittsburgh, to help maintain what was the league's top rushing offense through two weeks. That lofty ranking for the Browns' run game is in contrast to the passing game, which is ranked No. 26 in the league.
What helped the Browns have a chance to win in Pittsburgh and will continue to give them a chance to win most weeks if they play at this level was the defense. Outside of a 71-yard George Pickens TD catch, the Browns have yet to allow an opponent to run a single play inside of the 30, are holding teams to 6-of-29 (20.7%) third-down conversions and rank second behind the Dallas Cowboys in total defense, tied for second with the Atlanta Falcons in pass defense and are tied for third with the Titans in run defense.
"It feels good but we’ve got to keep it up," All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett said. "Got to set that as the standard, nobody within the 30. Realistically, someone's going to break that but as soon as they do, we’ve got to show that mental toughness and resilience to go say, well they don't get into the end zone, they don't get past the 10 on 20 whatever it is."
If the Browns do that on Sunday, then they have a chance to flush away the memories of the week that was for them. If they don't, then the week that was could be the week that will be as well.
Time to look at the matchups that will help determine which way that week goes.
Individual matchup of the game: Cleveland Browns LG Joel Bitonio vs. Tennessee Titans DT Jeffrey Simmons
This won't always be the specific matchup you see during Sunday's game. In fact, you may see quite a bit of Simmons, a two-time Pro Bowler, on the Browns' Pro Bowl right guard Wyatt Teller.
Regardless, you want to talk about get-your-popcorn matchups featuring two of the NFL's best at their respective positions, then this is the one to watch. That's especially true considering the pressure that may or may not be coming simultaneously off the edge with the Titans' outside linebackers, Arden Key and Harold Landry III.
The heart and soul of the Browns' offensive line are their guards, specifically Bitonio, who will start his 101st consecutive regular-season game Sunday. Simmons is the key to Tennessee's three-down front, having already recorded two sacks and seven quarterback pressures through two games.
The Browns can't allow Watson to be facing pressure in his face from the center of the line, which happened with some frequency against the Steelers. Bitonio — or Teller — against Simmons is where it'll start.
Position group matchup of the game: Cleveland Browns cornerbacks vs. Tennessee Titans receivers
The one significant defensive injury the Browns have is with cornerback Greg Newsome II, who's been ruled out Sunday due to an elbow injury. In Denzel Ward and Martin Emerson Jr., though, they do still have two quality corners, which they'll need against Tennessee.
It took this long to mention the name Derrick Henry, and yes, the Titans' former NFL rushing leader will factor large in the game. However, what made Tennessee really successful offensively last Sunday was an effective and efficient Ryan Tannehill (20-of-24, 246 yards, TD, 123.3 passer rating) throwing the ball to the likes of DeAndre Hopkins, Treylon Burks and Chig Okonkwo.
Hopkins has been dealing with a hamstring injury that has him questionable, although he did make the trip to Cleveland. Still, the Browns can't let whomever the Titans have lined up at receiver get free for big plays, because all that does is open the door for big things for Henry in the run game.
Coaching matchup of the game: Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski vs. Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel
Let's be honest. This is the only coaching matchup anyone cares about.
On one side, you have the hometown coach who's team is coming off an emotional loss who could see his seat really get hot with a loss Sunday. On the other, you have the hometown boy who's come home to coach his team off of an emotional win in a critical early-season AFC game.
Not sure what else really needs to be said.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns look to put Steelers loss behind them with key game vs. Titans
