Cleveland Browns

Browns: Keys to victory vs. Tennessee Titans

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:28 a.m. ET

foxsports

Oct 2, 2016; Landover, MD, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Terrelle Pryor (11) celebrates after catching a touchdown pass against the Washington Redskins in the second quarter at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans square off on Sunday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. What are Cleveland’s top priorities if they want to win?

The Cleveland Browns are still seeking their first victory. Following five consecutive losses to open the season, the team is now faced with an opportunity to notch the first win of 2016 this week as they take on the Tennessee Titans.

The matchup is not an ideal one for the Browns, as they will be faced with the task of slowing down a dual threat quarterback in Marcus Mariota. They will also enter the game with instability at the quarterback position, after Charlie Whitehurst was dropped and Kevin Hogan was promoted from the practice squad.

While rookie quarterback Cody Kessler is expected to return, Josh McCown has been ruled out of the game.

For what it’s worth, the Browns have had success in their most recent meetings with the Titans. Two years ago, they completed the largest road comeback in NFL history at the very stadium this week’s game will take place at. Last season, the Browns got one of their three wins against the Titans, shutting down Mariota in his second career start.

Regardless, this year’s team has their work cut out for them if they wish to continue this trend. In a season like this, every game presents a new challenge. The Browns will need to play well in various different areas on Sunday in order to win. These areas are outlined in the following slides.

Oct 9, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Cody Kessler (6) makes a pass against the New England Patriots during the first quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Sometimes, the best defense is offense in a road game. When the Browns travel to Tennessee this week, they will run into an example of this. Scoring early and often to settle the crowd down is a paramount stride to take in a game in which the Browns are underdogs by a touchdown. In order to do this, they will need to find big plays in their offense, from both the running and the passing game.

The benefits of this are not only to keep the crowd noise down, something that has not bothered Cleveland’s offense to a noticeable degree thus far in 2016. The true purpose of this is more to stay a step ahead early in the game, and give the offense some confidence and the defense a reason to believe. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to be up multiple scores, either. If the Browns can’t take control of this game in the first quarter, they will have difficulties pulling it out in the fourth as they have had in previous weeks.

Kessler will need to play an efficient game, as will Isaiah Crowell. But even if this happens, the Browns will be in trouble if they don’t hit a big touchdown play. The best time to attempt this is by taking a shot downfield early on, throwing the defense off-balance. If Terrelle Pryor or another receiver can silence the fans early, the Browns will be on their way to their first victory.

Oct 2, 2016; Landover, MD, USA; Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell (34) carries the ball past Washington Redskins safety David Bruton Jr. (30) and Redskins linebacker Will Compton (51) in the second quarter at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

One important key to a game like this is head coach and play caller Hue Jackson, and the offensive game plan he puts together. In past weeks, and especially last week against the New England Patriots, the run to pass ratio has been lopsided, making for a very unbalanced offense.

Going up against a defense like the Titans there is no reason to heavily favor the running game or the passing game. Tennessee gives up the ninth-fewest passing yards, and the 14th-fewest rushing yards. This makes them an overall solid defense. But the biggest takeaway from this stat is that balanced offense will work best, running the ball early to set up play-action passing options later in the game.

It actually is somewhat surprising that the Titans are ranked as well as they are on defense, since they have no real superstar defender. But what they do have is solid linebacker play from Brian Orakpo and Derrick Morgan especially. This underscores the need to mix up the play calling, as the linebackers defend both the pass and the run. Making the plays unpredictable is an important step to throwing the defense off-balance. If the Browns can do this, they can at least put themselves in positions which gives them opportunities to make plays on offense and score a substantial amount of points.

Oct 9, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (93) applies press to Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Unfortunately, the Titans offense matches up well against the Browns defense. They have a dual-threat quarterback in Mariota, who keeps the linebackers on their heels, a strong running game with DeMarco Murray, and a good passing game to their bigger targets, such as Delanie Walker. Against an undersized Cleveland secondary, this has potential to be a field day for Tennessee’s offense.

But there is a way for the Browns to get in the heads of the Titans and throw off their offensive balance. Simply put, Cleveland will have to shut down one element of Tennessee’s offense. If they make it their goal from the very beginning to shut down Murray and the running game, and they do so successfully, they open up flexibility for what defensive coordinator Ray Horton wants to accomplish. For instance, they may put Tennessee into clear passing situations, allowing the Browns to either send pressure or back eight defenders into coverage.

Cleveland allows the sixth-most passing yards per game, but only the 12th most rushing yards. This can be used to the Browns advantage, as they can focus on stopping Tennessee on first and second down as they have done relatively successfully in the past several weeks. Then, they can double team Tennessee’s big tight end, and shut down below average wide receivers on the edges.

Doing this requires many third-and-long situations, but it pays off if these can be created. Even though it is easier said than done, the Browns can indeed make the Titans’ offense one dimensional if they focus on stopping their rushing attack.

Oct 9, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry (22) runs the ball against the Miami Dolphins during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

This seems to be a recurring theme for the Browns defense; they shut down the superstar, but give up three touchdowns to the player the average fan hasn’t heard of. Last week, it was Martellus Bennett. Against Miami, it was Jay Ajayi. This week, it could be the likes of Tajae Sharp, Rishard Matthews or Derrick Henry. Maybe these aren’t absolute no-names, but they are far from DeMarco Murray.

If the Browns can indeed slow down Tennessee’s running game, a very important key, they still aren’t out of the water. With a secondary that has performed terribly thus far this season, the team needs to make sure they dominate the players they are supposed to beat, and not let them go under the radar. Doing this requires attention to detail, and relentless aggressiveness.

Doing this successfully will allow the Browns to focus on the real threats they face. If they are able to make these potent threats the top priority, instead of focusing all of their attention on Joe Receiver from Kalamazoo State, their seemingly insurmountable tasks on defense will become much easier to accomplish. This, of course, leads to sharper defense which is in control of the game. They may bend several times and give up points, but they won’t outright break.

Sep 11, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Cleveland Browns punter Britton Colquitt (4) holds as kicker Patrick Murray (2) kicks a field goal Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles won 29-10. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Both the turnover battle and the field position battle are critical elements in every football game. However, turnovers have not been a major issue for the Browns this year, as they are only -2 in turnover ratio. Also, since this game is expected to be on the lower scoring end, field position will be more critical, as points will be difficult to come by.

As for how the Browns can be successful in the area of field position, it has to be a team effort. It’s not just punter Britton Colquitt making booming punts and the special teams doing their job. Field position has to do with both the offense and defense making the most of their drives, even when the offense has to punt.

Another key to success that impacts field position is penalties. The Browns only committed five last week, but have had troubles in general with penalties thus far this season. In each of the first five contests, they have committed a special teams penalty. This area must be cleaned up if the Browns are to win.

In the end, it may come down to a fluke play even if the Browns have played a reasonably clean game. This is why the Browns must make sure they pay attention to every little detail, because in a game like this, it could make all the difference.