Titans vs. Browns: Full Cleveland Game Preview
Losing to the rookie quarterback the team reportedly flirted with acquiring during the offseason would be another early blow to a Cleveland Browns team trying to improve on its encouraging seven-win 2014 season.
But that’s a real possibility if Marcus Mariota plays even remotely as well as he did in his debut last week against Tampa Bay. The rookie finished with four touchdowns—all in the first half—and a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
That’s nothing to scoff at. That’s frightening, actually, after watching Ryan Fitzpatrick move the ball on Cleveland’s defense last week.
Instead of paying a king’s ransom to trade up to the No. 2 overall pick where Mariota was drafted, the Browns will likely trot out second-year quarterback Johnny Manziel. Seeing the backup quarterback in Cleveland hasn’t been a question of if but when in recent years.
But no one could have predicted Josh McCown exiting on the last play of his first drive. No one could have predicted Cleveland’s luck being that bad.
With that said, McCown’s early concussion could be a blessing in disguise.
Manziel appears to have made a concerted effort to make amends for his squandered rookie season and has shown incremental improvement all offseason. Putting his uneven Week 1 performance aside, the Browns could benefit from getting him some live game snaps while McCown collects himself this week.
If Manziel can rise to the occasion, Sunday’s matchup between the Browns and Tennessee Titans could be one of the more explosive games on the NFL’s Week 2 slate.
Viewing Info
Location: FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland
Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Week 1 Results and Recap
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The Cleveland Browns took a 10-7 lead over the New York Jets roughly three minutes before halftime. However, they couldn't shut the door on their hosts and dropped their 11th straight season opener 31-10.
Twenty-one of New York’s 24 unanswered points came off Manziel’s three turnovers. The only takeaway for the Browns was a Tashaun Gipson interception that was subsequently stripped by Jets receiver Brandon Marshall.
Manziel was only active because McCown suffered a concussion on the final play of the team’s 17-play opening drive. He did have an encouraging start, though, with a 54-yard touchdown strike to Travis Benjamin.
Although his turnovers and final stat line are dismal, Manziel had two 20-plus-yard runs nullified by penalties. He also narrowly overshot Andrew Hawkins, who wasn’t able to get both feet down in the end zone, for a would-be touchdown.
Defensively, it was much of the same for the Browns. The team that gave up the most rushing yards per game in 2014 was gashed for 154 by the Jets in Week 1.
Despite how bad things got against the Jets, Baltimore and Pittsburgh also lost. The Browns will have their chances to get back into the division race. Getting their first win at home this weekend would go a long way toward forgetting about their Week 1 miscues.
AFC North Division Standings
News and Notes
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Browns Preparing Johnny Manziel to Start, Not Ruling out McCown
The Cleveland Browns might not have a choice but to start second-year quarterback Manziel against the Tennessee Titans in Week 2. McCown is recovering from a concussion and is still being evaluated according to the NFL’s concussion protocol.
“In an ideal situation, Josh would be back at the end of the week but we have to plan otherwise, meaning he won’t be available at least early for practice,” Mike Pettine said, per Andrew Gribble of ClevelandBrowns.com. “We will have to see how it plays out. Johnny will get, early in the week, the starting quarterback reps.”
The earliest McCown can practice is Friday, per league rules, but that could give him enough time for his coach to give him back the reins and keep Manziel on the bench for the time being.
Manziel has been limited this week too. Remember, elbow soreness kept him out of the team’s final two preseason games. He told reporters he’s fine and has taken all the snaps he has needed to this week, but Coach Pettine said newly acquired backup Austin Davis would take some first-team reps as well to help out, according to NFL Network’s Gregg Rosenthal.
Before being knocked out of the game last Sunday, McCown led the Browns offense on an impressive 17-play drive that would have resulted in a touchdown had he not fumbled into the end zone.
Joe Thomas’ Consecutive Snaps Streak Continues
They say it’s bad luck to talk about a no-hitter in baseball. It’s probably also bad luck to talk about a player never missing a snap at any point during his eight-plus-year NFL career.
But it’s being done all over the place, so we’re going to talk a little about it here.
Thomas has played 7,980 consecutive snaps since being drafted third overall in the 2007 NFL draft, according to ClevelandBrowns.com. That draft produced household names like Thomas, Darrelle Revis, Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch, to name a few.
Despite playing for a consistently poor team, Thomas has played through all types of injuries to keep himself in the game. “You just suck it up. You’re a lineman,” he said.
Hopefully, his hard work and sacrifice will be paid back with a winning season sometime before he retires. It’s worth noting that Patrick Willis, another standout from the 2007 draft class, retired before the start of the 2015 season.
Father Time is undefeated.
Latest Injury News
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| Player | Position | Injury |
| Dwayne Bowe | WR | Hamstring |
| Robert Turbin | RB | Ankle |
| Justin Gilbert | DB | Hip flexor |
| Desmond Bryant | DE | Shoulder |
| Karlos Dansby | LB | Foot |
| Johnny Manziel | QB | Elbow |
| Josh McCown | QB | Concussion |
| Joel Bitonio | OL | Knee |
| Scott Solomon | LB | Ankle |
| Nate Orchard | LB | Back |
| Mitchell Schwartz | OL | Thumb |
All injury information courtesy of Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer.
Starting outside linebacker Scott Solomon will miss four-to-six weeks with an ankle injury he suffered after playing two snaps against the New York Jets in Week 1, per ESPN's Adam Caplan (h/t ESPN’s Pat McManamon). Hybrid defensive lineman Armonty Bryant and rookie Nate Orchard will likely log significant snaps in his absence.
Orchard said he was “fully ready to go” after missing last week’s game while recovering from a back injury, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal.
On the offensive line, Joel Bitonio was treated for a knee injury, but he sounds optimistic about his prospects of playing on Sunday. "Nothing major," Bitonio said, per Dan Labbe of Northeast Ohio Media Group. "I just came in and got some treatment on it. ... I'm good to go."
That’s a relief. The Browns’ offensive line was pushed around last week even with its standout second-year guard on the field.
As of Thursday, quarterback Josh McCown is still in the NFL’s concussion protocol and won’t be able to practice until Friday at the earliest. Pettine said McCown observed practice outside on Wednesday, according to ESPN Cleveland’s Jason Gibbs.
Manziel has taken first-team repetitions during practice and is preparing to start on Sunday against Tennessee.
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Key Matchups
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Browns' Running Game vs. Titans Front 7
We know Cleveland was bad at defending the run in 2014. Tennessee wasn’t much better. The Browns finished last, allowing 141.6 yards per game, while the Titans finished right in front of them with 137.2 rushing yards allowed per contest.
Dick LeBeau’s tutelage isn’t going to fix the team’s struggles in that area in one offseason. His complex system will take time, and it’ll take time to get the right pieces to plug into the unit.
While last week’s win over Tampa Bay looks good in the box score, Doug Martin and Jameis Winston combined for 45 yards on the ground in the first quarter alone. That was until the team went down 28-7 and abandoned its running game for the most part.
Cleveland’s leading rushers against the Jets were its quarterbacks. That has to and should change this week.
Titans Receivers vs. Browns Secondary
Although Marcus Mariota led the NFL in yards per attempt (13.1) in Week 1, the rookie quarterback didn’t throw a pass in the air longer than 19 yards, and his 16 completions traveled just 95 total yards in the air.
That means he was getting the ball out quickly and his receivers were racking up yards after the catch. One way to try to limit that this week is to prevent them from getting a free release at the line of scrimmage. The Browns are supposed to be playing a physical, press-man defensive scheme.
They’ll need to be aggressive in that area to hinder Kendall Wright, Harry Douglas and even Dexter McCluster from getting into space quickly.
While Mariota did have huge success during his first start, he’s still a rookie and was sacked three times on just 19 snaps. That 42.9 percent sack rate was the highest in the NFL in Week 1.
X-Factor
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Browns' X-Factor of the Week: Duke Johnson
Speed kills. Travis Benjamin’s jailbreak 54-yard touchdown last week is evidence of that. It’s also something the Cleveland Browns haven’t had much of until now.
Speedy rookie running back Duke Johnson has been behind the curve, as he has missed much of the offseason with various injuries. But he made it through Week 1 unscathed and figures to be a bigger part of the team’s game plan moving forward.
Although he measured “poorly” at the NFL combine for someone with his perceived speed—4.54-second 40-yard dash time, according to NFL.com—his quickness and elusiveness are undeniable if you turn on his tape.
He’s the type of playmaker for the Browns’ rushing attack that Benjamin can be through the air.
If the Browns can give him a few creases against a beatable Tennessee Titans front seven, Johnson will be able to exploit them for big gains. That’s an element that has been sorely missing from Cleveland’s repertoire for too long.
Having that will make life much easier for whoever lines up at quarterback on Sunday.
Prediction: Browns 24, Titans 20
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Looking at the Browns' schedule, it’s easy to see why winning their home opener is critical. Other than this week against Tennessee and next week when Oakland comes to town, the Browns have their work cut out for them in 2015.
Urgency and disappointment from their Week 1 dud should be apparent in all facets of their game on Sunday. If not, it’s hard to see the team recovering from a dreaded 0-2 start.
According to USA Today's Nate Davis, only 11.6 percent of teams that dropped their first two games have ended up in the postseason since 1990.
If the Browns can play fundamentally, limit big plays and establish their offensive line of scrimmage, they’ll be able to at least slow down Mariota. It’s paramount to prevent him and the Titans from getting in an early rhythm like they did in Week 1.
The Titans aren’t as stout as the Jets up front defensively, meaning the Browns should find some more running room. And Cleveland’s physical defensive scheme will challenge Tennessee’s receivers more than Lovie Smith’s Cover 2 look did last week.
Cleveland’s defense should be able to find enough success stopping the likes of Kendall Wright and Harry Douglas to give the team a puncher’s chance in its home opener.
Final Prediction: Browns 24, Titans 20
Unless otherwise noted, advanced statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
Mike Hoag (@MikeHoagJr) covers the Cleveland Browns for Bleacher Report and is the managing editor of Browns Beat.
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