Browns vs. Titans instant analysis | Deshaun Watson, Browns defense bury Titans

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Browns vs. Titans instant analysis | Deshaun Watson, Browns defense bury Titans

Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal · Akron Beacon Journal

Sun, Sep 24, 2023 ·

13 min read

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CLEVELAND — Twisted Sister's "We're Not Going to Take It" blared over the Cleveland Browns Stadium sound system with just under seven minutes remaining Sunday. It may as well have been the Browns' theme for the day.

The Browns responded to an early season make-to-break moment with an all-systems-dominant performance in a 27-3 rout of the visiting Tennessee Titans .

Fresh off a distressing loss at the Pittsburgh Steelers in which they not only lost the game, but also running back Nick Chubb to a season-ending knee injury, the Browns faced questions. They answered them in the affirmative.

The defense started the Browns party by holding the Titans to 94 net yards. That's the lowest total for that franchise since they moved from Houston to Tennessee.

Myles Garrett sacked Ryan Tannehill 3.5 times as part of the five-sack day. Derrick Henry , the Titans' star running back, was held to 20 yards on 11 carries.

Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson , meanwhile, responded to the loudest criticism he's faced for his on-field play by throwing for 289 yards and two touchdowns. He finished with a 123.4 passer rating.

Here's how the game played out.

Deshaun Watson's day over as Dorian Thompson-Robinson makes debut

Deshaun Watson's day ended after his touchdown pass to Amari Cooper . After the Titans were once again forced to punt with 4:49 remaining, Watson was pulled to give rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson his NFL debut.

Watson's day: 27-of-33 passing for 289 yards with two touchdowns and a 123.4 passer rating. He ran four times for 16 yards and was sacked three times.

Thompson-Robinson was taken by the Browns in the fifth round of April's draft out of UCLA.

Amari Cooper gets his TD catch, Browns blowing out Titans

Amari Cooper was robbed of a long touchdown catch in the first half when the official ruled he had stepped out of bounds at the Titans 40 when he hadn't done so. With 6:51 remaining in the game, Cooper got his payback.

The veteran receiver got completely behind the Titans defense to pull in a 43-yard touchdown pass to increase the Browns lead to a 27-3. The catch gave Cooper seven catches for 116 yards and the score, while Deshaun Watson is 27-of-33 passing for 289 yards and two touchdowns, with a passer rating of 123.4.

Myles Garrett wrecking Ryan Tannehill's day in Cleveland

Myles Garrett ended the Titans drive when he sacked Ryan Tannehill at the Tennessee 3 to force a punt. It gave Garrett 3.5 sacks in the game.

The only single-game performance better for Garrett came against the Chicago Bears on Sept. 26, 2021, when he sacked Bears quarterback Justin Fields 4.5 times.

Alex Wright gets first career sack

Second-year defensive end Alex Wright got his first career sack on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The play by the third-round pick out of UAB dropped Ryan Tannehill for a 10-yard loss. The Titans needed to use a timeout after the play because they couldn't get the play off due to the noise in the stadium.

End 3rd quarter: Cleveland Browns 20, Tennessee Titans 3

The Browns have a 20-3 lead heading into the final eight minutes of the game. The defensive dominance has shown itself by limiting Tennessee to just 93 total yards and Derrick Henry to just 14 yards on nine carries.

Deshaun Watson, meanwhile, is 24-of-30 passing for 239 yards with a touchdown. His passer rating is 110.

Jerome Ford gets the pylon for 3-yard Browns touchdown

The score that blew the game open was only fitting to have come from the man tasked to replace the injured Nick Chubb. Jerome Ford took a handoff and swept to the left, outrunning the Titans defense to the pylon for the 3-yard touchdown.

The 11-play, 85-yard drive pushed the Browns lead out to 20-3 with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter. Ford had 23 yards on seven carries, plus 33 yards on two catches.

Ford has accounted for both Browns touchdowns to this point.

Defensive stop, Donovan Peoples-Jones catch kick-start Browns in third quarter

The Browns came out of the locker room at halftime and immediately re-established its defensive presence by forcing a punt after the Titans picked up an initial first down. They would get the ball at their own 15 after the punt, but needed just two plays to flip the field.

That flip came courtesy of an amazing 29-yard catch by Donovan Peoples-Jones. He somehow, despite being blanketed by a defender, pulled in the pass and got two feet down to move the chains at the Tennessee 47.

Halftime: Cleveland Browns 13, Tennessee Titans 3

The Browns used Myles Garrett's half-ending sack to preserve a 13-3 halftime lead over the Titans. The Browns hold a 147-67 edge in total yards, an 11-4 first-down edge and a 19-(minus-)2 edge in rushing yards.

Tennessee netted 54 on its final drive of the half.

Myles Garrett sack wipes out momentum from Chris Moore 's sensational fourth-down catch

The Titans were setting themselves up to potentially double up scores when Chris Moore pulled in a Ryan Tannehill fourth-down pass from on top of cornerback Martin Emerson Jr.'s head for a game of 33 to the Browns 11. Instead, the half would end when Myles Garrett sacked Tannehill for a 10-yard loss as the half expired.

Garrett has 2.5 sacks in the first half.

Browns forced to settle for Dustin Hopkins field goal after blown call

The Browns would only net six yards on the three plays after the official wrongly ruled Amari Cooper stepped out of bounds at the Titans 40. They would ended up with a 52-yard field goal from Dustin Hopkins to at least get points from the possession.

The kick, with a minute left in the half, gave the Browns a 13-3 lead.

Officials wrongly call Amari Cooper out on deep pass play

Amari Cooper had a 25-yard reception to give the Browns the ball at the Titans 40 with 2:04 left in the first half. The reality is, it should've been a 65-yard touchdown had an official not wrongly ruled Cooper to be out of bounds at that spot.

Cooper continued to run all the way into the end zone, even with a moment's hesitation. Multiple replays clearly showed the Browns receiver never stepped out of bounds.

The play was not reviewable because the whistle had blown.

The Browns needed to use a timeout after the play because the play clock ran out. On the next play, Deshaun Watson tried to hit Cooper on a deep route to the right, but he was being held by Sean Murphy-Bunting as he ran, but didn't draw a flag.

Browns defense, despite multiple penalties, stuffs Titans' promising drive

The Browns were their own worst enemy on the Titans' drive after the Deshaun Watson touchdown pass. They gave up 36 yards in penalties, the big one a 26-yard pass interference penalty on Martin Emerson Jr. on third-and-12 from the Tennessee 35.

However, Tennessee would get no points on the drive, which got as close as the Browns 37. A combined Myles Garrett and Ogbo Okronkwo sack of Ryan Tannehill on third-and-11 from the Browns 40 led to a punt.

Titans defense helps Deshaun Watson recover from mistake, throw TD pass

Deshaun Watson's 19-yard touchdown pass to Jerome Ford gave the Browns a 10-3 lead with 9:39 left in the second quarter. Ford beat his man with a double move on a go route and was wide open in the end zone.

The score came at the end of a crazy nine-play drive that nearly was a disaster. Until it wasn't.

Watson appeared to sabotage the Browns' promising first second-quarter drive when, while trying to avoid a sack he lateraled the ball backwards to Elijah Moore for a loss of 16. That moved the ball back to the Browns 33.

The very next play, though, the Titans defense bailed them out. Defensive end Arden Key was flagged for roughing the passer when he delivered a forearm to Watson's head, which left the quarterback down and shaken for a moment.

That flag, though, wasn't accepted, as the Titans were also flagged for pass interference. That put the ball on the Titans 30.

Nick Folk helps Tennessee Titans turn turnover into tie game

The Browns did everything they could defensively after the fumble. The defense had three plays of negative yardage, pushing the Titans back from the Browns 17 to the 26.

Nick Folk's 44-yard field goal still allowed Tennessee to tie the game at 3-3. The kick came with 14:14 remaining in the second quarter, the same time in Monday's game in which Nick Chubb sustained his season-ending knee injury.

End 1st quarter: Cleveland Browns 3, Tennessee Titans 0

The Browns hold a 3-0 lead over the Titans after the first quarter. The Titans will open the second quarter in a third-and-17 situation from the Browns 24.

Cleveland holds a 60-4 total yards edge on an 18-8 total plays advantage.

Elijah Moore fumble leads to first Browns opponent in red zone

The Browns finally had to defend in the red zone. That was because their offense had them there after Elijah Moore was stripped by Sean Murphy-Bunting, who also recovered the ball and returned it to the Browns 17.

On the first play run against the Browns defense in the red zone, Titans running back Derrick Henry was dropped for a 3-yard loss.

Back-to-back three-and-outs for Browns defense

The Browns defense has picked up right up where it left off last week against the Steelers. They've forced a pair of three-and-out to the Titans offense to open the game.

Tennessee has run six plays for a net of 11 yards. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill is 3-of-5 for 9 yards, with some steady pressure in his face when he takes deep drops.

Browns stay basic with starting defensive lineup

The Browns opened their first defensive series in a base look, forcing a three-and-out. That included the following:

DE: Za'Darius Smith

DT: Dalvin Tomlinson

DT: Jordan Elliott

DE: Myles Garrett

LB: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah

LB: Anthony Walker Jr.

LB: Sione Takitaki

CB: Denzel Ward

S: Grant Delpit

S: Juan Thornhill

CB: Martin Emerson Jr.

Browns get into bag of tricks on opening field goal drive

The Browns took a 3-0 lead on the Titans with a 12-play, 48-yard opening drive. Dustin Hopkins capped it with a 48-yard field goal with 7:49 left in the first quarter.

The offense got into the bag of tricks, though. The biggest was a second-and-9 play from midfield where Elijah Moore took a handoff to the right while in motion, then flipped it to Donovan Peoples-Jones coming to the left, who then flipped to Deshaun Watson for the flea-flicker.

All of that set up a screen pass to Moore on the right side of the formation, which gained 14 yards to the Titans 36.

Watson was 5-for-5 for 41 yards passing on the drive.

Cleveland Browns start out on offense, Jerome Ford at running back

The Browns got to start the game on offense after the Titans deferred their choice to the second half. They started with this lineup:

QB: Deshaun Watson

RB: Jerome Ford

TE: David Njoku

TE: Harrison Bryant

WR: Amari Cooper

WR: Donovan Peoples-Jones

RT: Dawand Jones

RG: Wyatt Teller

C: Ethan Pocic'

LG: Joel Bitonio

LT: Jedrick Wills Jr.

James Hudson III joins Greg Newsome II among Browns on inactive list

The Browns will not have backup offensive tackle James Hudson III available for Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans. The third-year pro, who came into the day listed as questionable, has been battling an ankle injury.

Hudson joins cornerback Greg Newsome II as injured Browns who will be inactive. Newsome was ruled out on Friday with an elbow injury.

Martin Emerson Jr. will start in Newsome's place at cornerback. The Browns elevated practice-squad tackle Ty Nsekhe as insurance for Hudson's absence.

The rest of the Browns inactive list features four rookies: safety Ronnie Hickman, center Luke Wypler, defensive end Isaiah McGuire and Siaki Ika.

Denico Autry, DeAndre Hopkins active for the Tennessee Titans

The Titans' Denico Autry (foot) and DeAndre Hopkins (hamstring) were both active for the Titans on Sunday. Both were listed as questionable for the game.

Tennessee's inactive list included OT Peter Skoronski, OL Jaelyn Duncan, WR Colton Dowell, LB Caleb Murphy, QB Will Levis, DB Kindle Vildor and LB Trevis Gipson.

How to watch, stream and listen to the Cleveland Browns vs. Tennessee Titans

TV channel:CBS WOIO-TV (Channel 19).
Stream: Paramount+ , Fubo (free trial) .
Announcers:Spero Dedes (play-by-play), Adam Archuleta (analyst) and Aditi Kinkhabwala (sideline reporter).

How to listen to the Cleveland Browns vs. Tennessee Titans on the radio

The Cleveland Browns Radio Network will carry the game, with Chris Rose (play-by-play), Nathan Zegura (analyst) and Je'Rod Cherry (sideline reporter) on the call. Among the affiliates in the Akron-Canton area are WAKR-AM 1590, WONE-FM 97.5, WHBC-AM 1480, WQKT-FM 104.5, WKRK-FM 92.3, WKNR-AM 850 and WNCX-FM 98.5.

The Browns have also started a Spanish-language broadcast, with Rafael "Rafa" Hernández-Brito (play-by-play) and Octavio Sequera (analyst) on the call. Games will be streamed on La Mega Cleveland , as well as heard on WNZN-FM 89.1 in Lorain and WVKO-FM 103.1 in Columbus.

Browns-Titans odds, money line, over/under

Provided by Tipico Sportsbook ; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at midnight ET, Sunday.

Moneyline (ML):Browns -180 (bet $180 to win $100) | Titans +150 (bet $100 to win $150)
Against the spread:Browns -3.5 (-100) | Titans +3.5 (+100)
Over/Under (O/U):38 (O: -110 | U: -110)

Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans injury report

Browns:Cornerback Greg Newsome II (elbow), out; offensive tackle James Hudson III (ankle), questionable
Titans:Receiver Kearis Jackson (ankle), out; offensive tackle Peter Skoronski (abdomen), out; receiver DeAndre Hopkins (hamstring), questionable; defensive end Denico Autry (foot), questionable; cornerback Austin Kendall (hip), questionable

Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans in Week 2

The Browns fell to 1-1 for the season with a 26-22 loss to the AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night in Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Steelers returned two Browns turnovers for touchdowns.

The Titans improved to 1-1 for the season with a 27-24 overtime win over the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday in Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Nick Folk kicked a 41-yard field goal with 5:02 remaining in overtime to give Tennessee the win.

Cleveland Browns vs. Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers rivalry

Sunday's game will be the 69th meeting between the Cleveland Browns and the Tennessee Titans, which includes meetings between the Browns and the Houston Oilers between 1970-95.

Overall:Browns, 36-32
In regular season:Browns, 36-31
In playoffs:Titans/Oilers, 1-0
In Cleveland:Titans/Oilers 17-16
In Nashville/Houston:Browns, 20-14
Streak:Browns won the last meeting 41-36 in Nashville on Dec. 6, 2020

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 score vs Titans live game updates | NFL Week 3

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