Browns QB Deshaun Watson looking to make up for sluggish start at home against Titans

TENNESSEE (1-1) at CLEVELAND (1-1)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE: Browns by 3.

SERIES RECORD: Browns lead 36-32.

LAST MEETING: Browns beat Titans 41-35 on Dec. 6, 2020, in Nashville, Tennessee.

LAST WEEK: Titans beat Chargers 27-24 in OT; Browns lost 26-22 to Pittsburgh.

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Titans 2-0; Browns 1-1.

TITANS OFFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (11), PASS (22), SCORING (20)

TITANS DEFENSE: OVERALL (20), RUSH (t-3), PASS (28), SCORING (11)

BROWNS OFFENSE: OVERALL (6), RUSH (1), PASS (26), SCORING (17)

BROWNS DEFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (t-3), PASS (t-2), SCORING (2)

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Titans minus-1; Browns minus-4.

TITANS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Ryan Tannehill. The veteran bounced back from the worst passer rating of his career in an opening loss in New Orleans by completing a career-best 83.3% of his passes. He rallied Tennessee from an 11-point deficit to earn the 27th game-winning drive of his career. He had a TD and scoring pass in the comeback.

BROWNS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Deshaun Watson. Two poor performances have raised concerns about whether he's still rusty from his long layoff or if his off-field issues have shaken his confidence. Watson looks nothing like the 2020 league passing leader, and it's imperative he starts playing better or the Browns could again be headed for some major changes.

KEY MATCHUP: Browns DC Jim Schwartz vs. Tennessee's offense. Schwartz has revived Cleveland's defense, and he's very familiar with Titans three-time Pro Bowl RB Derrick Henry after being a senior defensive assistant in Tennessee the past two seasons. But Henry now has help in rookie Tyjae Spears for an offense that has averaged 125.5 yards rushiing per game.

KEY INJURIES: Titans LG Peter Skoronski is out a second straight game after an appendectomy on Sept. 16. Starting S Amani Hooker will play after clearing the concussion protocol, and CB Kristian Fulton (hamstring) also will return after missing last week. ... Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins (ankle) and DL Denico Autry both are questionable. Autry already was on the injury report with a foot issue but was limited Friday after a groin injury. ... Henry was on the injury report this week with a toe issue. The Titans placed rookie WR/KR Kearis Jackson on injured reserve with an injured ankle ... Browns star RB Nick Chubb suffered a season-ending left knee injury in Monday's loss to the Steelers. Chubb's loss is a devastating blow to a team that leans heavily on the four-time Pro Bowler. ... Browns starting CB Greg Newsome II (elbow) is out after getting hurt against the Steelers. ... Browns WR Amari Cooper (shoulder, groin) and DE Za'Darius Smith (ankle, thigh) missed time this week but are expected to play.

SERIES NOTES: The Titans are 18-16 on the road against the Browns. Tennessee routed Cleveland 43-13 in the 2019 opener. ... Titans coach Mike Vrabel is 1-1 against Cleveland. ... Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is 6-0 against the AFC South. ... The Browns have posted winning streaks of nine and six games in the series. But the Titans have won five of the past eight, including their past two visits to Cleveland.

STATS AND STUFF: The Titans have an NFL-best streak of eight straight games of not allowing an opponent to reach 100 yards rushing. They also have not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 18 consecutive games. ... The Titans held the Chargers to 2 of 14 on third downs (14.3%). ... Tennessee has seven sacks. ... The Titans have allowed eight sacks, including five in last week's win. ... DL Denico Autry has a team-high 19 1/2 sacks since joining Tennessee in 2021. ... Titans P Ryan Stonehouse set a franchise record in averaging 61.2 yards gross yards last week with a minimum of four punts. It was the NFL's second-best mark since the start of the 1960 season. ... Titans WR Treylon Burks' 70-yard catch last week was the team's longest completion since Dec. 20, 2020. ... Turnovers doomed the Browns against Pittsburgh. Watson's first pass was picked and returned for a TD 9 seconds into the game. Later, he lost the ball on a fumble for a scoop and score by Pittsburgh. ... Through two games, Watson has completed just 55.1% of his passes, a steep drop from his career-best (70.2) in 2020 when he led the league in passing with Houston. ... With Chubb out, second-year RB Jerome Ford moves into the starter's role. Ford rushed for 106 yards on 16 carries against the Steelers and caught a TD pass on the first play after Chubb was carted off. ... The Browns re-signed RB Kareem Hunt this week to back up Ford. Hunt spent four seasons with Cleveland, but was not retained as a free agent before coming back in an emergency. ... Cleveland's 404 yards rushing lead the league and are the most by a Browns team through two games since 1974. ... Schwartz has quickly fixed Cleveland's defense. The Browns have held teams to 6 of 29 (21%) on third downs, a league low. Also the Browns have allowed just 15 first downs, 11 fewer than the next-closest team. ... Cleveland's defense has not had to contest one play in the red zone. ... DE Myles Garrett has just one sack, but has been his usual disruptive self. He's the only player with at least 10 sacks in each of the past five seasons.

FANTASY TIP: Henry has led the Titans in yards from scrimmage in each of the first two games. He also scored Tennessee's first TD of 2023 last week. He's struggled against Cleveland, averaging just 41 yards in four games. ... His next rushing TD will make him the seventh NFL player in the Super Bowl era to reach 8,000 yards rushing and 80 rushing TDs within his first eight seasons.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl