Cleveland Browns seek revenge against Titans in Tennessee

The Cleveland Browns will look to get revenge for last year’s opener Sunday.

The 8-3 Cleveland Browns, yes you saw that right, head to Tennessee to face the equally 8-3 Titans. Could this be the game most thought would take place at the start of the 2019 season? The Titans were looking to make the leap from 9-7 season after 9-7 season, and the Browns were the trendy up and coming powerhouse ready to take the NFL by storm. Then came reality for the Browns as they lost 43-13 and showed all their warts that would permeate the 2019 season.

Tennessee, however, struggled a bit after the big win to start the year under Marcus Mariota at 2-4. They then found themselves under Ryan Tannehill and the legs of Derrick Henry, finishing 2019 7-3 and making a run to the AFC championship game. They would then lose to the eventual Superbowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. They have come back in 2020 with the same formula for success and are in the thick of the AFC playoff race.

Under new head coach Kevin Stefanski the Browns have taken huge steps in 2020 from the team they were in 2019. They are currently the fifth seed in the AFC playoff race and playing significant games in December for the first time since 2007. So what has changed for both teams in 2020?

5. Ryan Tannehill

For the Titans, it is the starting quarterback. In 2019 the Browns faced Marcus Mariota, and it was not pretty as they gave up three touchdowns to a quarterback who would throw seven total in six games leading the Titans to make a change. Little did anyone know that a trade in the 2019 offseason for a “washed up” former Dolphins first-round pick in Ryan Tannehill would lead to where the Titans are now.

All Tannehill has done since taking over as the Titans’ starting quarterback is throw 45 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions leading the Titans to a 15-6 record over the last 21 games. Combined with the bulldozer that is Derrick Henry, Tannehill has finally fulfilled the potential he had shown through college and early in his NFL career.

The Browns have a different defensive coordinator and new players but have been decimated in the secondary with injuries. Tannehill is a bigger threat than Mariota was last season, and he doesn’t make many mistakes. This defense thrives off, causing mistakes, so it will definitely be a bigger challenge this year.