Motivated by their fallen teammate, Browns’ defensive front may smell blood in the water
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Four downs on Browns (1-1) v. Tennessee Titans (1-1)
First down: Winning for Mr. Chubb.
If nothing else, Kevin Stefanski has become adept at recovering his team from seemingly-catastrophic losses. In 2020, the Browns lost their opener in Baltimore, 38-6, and then won three in a row. In 2021, the Browns gave away a big lead and lost their opener in Kansas City, 33-29, and then won three in a row. In the second game of 2022, the Browns blew a 13-point lead to the Jets with 1:55 to play, and then won their next game over the Steelers. This year the challenge is recovering from a narrow loss in Pittsburgh exacerbated by a gut-wrenching, season-ending knee injury to Nick Chubb, the heartbeat of the team. “Nick wants this team to go perform,” Stefanski said this week. “Nick wants this team to go practice. Nick wants this team, obviously, to go win, but more than anything, he wants this team to make sure that the focus is on doing the things that we need to do to go win games. So that’s what we’ll do. Very quickly, you have to turn the page. Like I told you guys last week, you got to let those wins go really fast, and you got to let those losses go really fast. You get rid of those – win, lose or draw.” The Browns may have been heartened further when it was learned that Chubb’s injury could be less severe than originally thought – perhaps only a torn MCL instead of multiple ligaments. Upcoming surgery will reveal the full extent of damage to Chubb’s left knee.
Second down: Blood in the water.
Any opponent with a suspect offensive line or struggles at the line of scrimmage is going to have problems containing Jim Schwartz’s fusillade of pass rushers. The Titans have struggled in breaking in four new starters on their offensive line. Now two of them won’t be in the lineup on Sunday – left guard Peter Skoronski, the 11th overall pick of the 2023 draft, is out with an illness and right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere is serving a six-game suspension for violation of league gambling rules; ex-Brown Chris Hubbard fills in for him. All of which should have Schwartz’s defensive linemen salivating for another 60 minutes of attack football. The Browns’ D-front has been the engine driving the league’s No. 2-ranked defense, which is first in third-down stops, limiting opponents to 20.7 percent conversions, and has allowed an NFL-low 15 first downs through two weeks. “We expect those guys to be the engine of our defense,” Schwartz said of his eight-deep defensive line. “We have a lot of complementary parts that way that we can use. And you devote too much attention to one guy, we have a lot of ways to sort of make you pay in another way.”
Third down: It’s elementary, Deshaun Watson.
The Browns’ quarterback has become a lightning rod of criticism for not living up to the massive investment the Browns made to acquire and support him. Ranked 30th in passer rating and 32nd in off-target throws, Watson has shown a slowness in decision-making and hesitancy in running, plus an alarming lack of accuracy in his passing. He said he’s not lacking confidence but he sure seems to be pressing to have that one breakout performance to get everyone off his back. Maybe the sight of a familiar opponent, the Titans, can bring Watson’s former game back. With Houston, Watson played Mike Vrabel’s Tennessee defense five times in 2018-20. The Titans won three of the five meetings, but Watson’s numbers were insane: 116 of 159 (72.9 percent) for 1,463 yards, 13 touchdowns v. 4 interceptions and a passer rating of 117.99. "He’s going to have a tough, disciplined, physical defense that’s going to try to make you earn everything,” Watson said. “He’s going to disguise and do things that is kind of out of the ordinary. He’s going to make you think on the run, and he’s going to test you throughout the whole game. It’ll be fun to go against his defense again.”
Strangely, Derrick Henry's biggest play in four games against the Browns has been a catch on a screen pass.
Fourth down: Oh, Henry.
No running back has more rushing yards (8,335) or rushing touchdowns (78) than Derrick Henry since he entered the NFL in 2016. He earned NFL offensive player-of-the-year honors in 2020 when he led the NFL with 2,027 yards and 17 TDs. But in four games against the Browns, Henry has not toppled 100 yards. His high is 84 and he has averaged only 41 yards and has scored only one touchdown rushing. His biggest play, however, was a 75-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown on a screen pass that broke the backs of the Browns in the 2019 season-opener in Cleveland.
The pick: Browns 19, Titans 11.
My record: 1-1.
