Cleveland Browns at Tennessee Titans

Sun Oct 2512:00 PM CTCBSNashville, TN
By JR·2 min read
Browns(4-2)
Titans(1-5)
Sunday 10/2512:00 PM

TLDR: Cleveland has made a habit of winning ugly by a field goal, and it now sits in first place in the AFC North because of it. Tennessee finally got off the schneid in Indianapolis and gets the Browns at Nissan Stadium on Sunday, October 25.

SUN 10/25, 12:00 PM · Week 7CBS
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Kickoff 72°

AFC North-leading Cleveland (4-2) visits 1-5 Tennessee in a game between 2 offenses that struggle to move the ball. The Browns keep winning close ones with defense and Andre Szmyt, but their interior offensive line and defensive front are banged up. The Titans just got their first win under Robert Saleh thanks to 6 sacks, 3 takeaways and a blocked-punt touchdown. Whichever team protects its quarterback and wins the hidden-yardage battle probably wins a low-scoring game.

Cleveland Browns
  • 3 wins by exactly 3 points in the last 5
  • Estime gave the run game a spark after the Judkins injury
  • Watson-to-Jeudy delivered the game-winning drive vs Baltimore
  • Starting G Jenkins and C Brailsford both inactive last week
  • Graham, Hall Jr. out; Davis on IR on the D-line
  • 46 yards and 3 first downs in the Ravens first half
Tennessee Titans
  • 6 sacks and 3 takeaways in the Colts win
  • Special teams scored a blocked-punt TD and set up another
  • Slye's range reaches past 55 yards
  • Ward threw for 102 and 170 yards the last 2 weeks
  • Scored 3 points at home against Houston
  • Shut out in the first half in Indianapolis

Neither quarterback will put up big numbers in this one. Deshaun Watson went 16-of-26 for 164 yards in the 13-10 win over Baltimore, and the Browns had 46 total yards and 3 first downs at halftime before they came back. On the other side, Cam Ward went 11-of-22 for 102 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the win over the Colts, one week after a 170-yard day in a 26-3 home loss to Houston. Both offenses lean on their defenses and their kickers to get by, and kickoff is at 12:00 PM CT.

Cleveland's line is the bigger worry this week. Guard Teven Jenkins and center Parker Brailsford were both inactive against the Ravens, Quinshon Judkins sat with an ankle injury, and the defensive front was missing Mason Graham and Mike Hall Jr., with Kalia Davis on IR. The Browns lost Grant Delpit to a concussion and Justin Jefferson to a hip injury during the Baltimore game, so how the week of practice goes will decide a lot. The board has Cleveland as a short road favorite, which tells you nobody is sure who wins this.

The Browns keep finding a way anyway. Audric Estime got signed off Minnesota's practice squad, joined the 53-man roster 5 days before the Ravens game and scored the tying 2-yard touchdown in the 4th quarter. Watson then hit Jerry Jeudy for 33 yards to set up Andre Szmyt's field goal on the final snap. That's 3 wins by exactly 3 points in the last 5 games. You can call it clutch or you can call it living on the edge, and either way it's working.

10/18WvsRavens13-10
10/11L@Jets12-17
10/02WvsSteelers27-24
09/27WvsPanthers21-18
09/20W@Buccaneers23-19
10/18W@Colts26-20
10/11LvsTexans3-26
10/04L@Ravens18-24
09/27L@Giants7-12
09/20LvsEagles20-24

Tennessee's first win under Robert Saleh came from the defense and special teams, not the offense. The Titans trailed 13-0 at half after 64 yards and 3 first downs. In the second half they forced 3 turnovers, finished with 6 sacks, got a 58-yard Chimere Dike punt return that set up a score, and had James Williams block a punt that Femi Oladejo returned for a touchdown. Joey Slye hit from 56 and 49. Ward's 8-yard touchdown to Carnell Tate tied the game, and Amani Hooker, back from a concussion, picked off a tipped pass. Six sacks against a Cleveland line that's missing its interior starters is the matchup to watch.

The forecast won't be an excuse for anybody: 69 degrees, cloudy, 5 mph wind and no rain expected. That puts it on the offenses, and neither has scored much this month. Cleveland put up 12 and 13 points in its last 2 games, and Tennessee went 7, 18 and 3 before the Colts game. Expect field position, turnovers and the kicking game to decide it. The Titans just proved they can win that kind of game, and the Browns have won it 4 times this year.

Browns vs. Titans: Polymarket Odds & Prediction (Oct. 25) — Browns Ride Their Coin-Flip Magic Into Nashville Against Saleh's Titans · Barstool Bush