The Tennessee Titans finally came out on the winning side in Week 6 with a comeback win over the Indianapolis Colts. It was a rough start for Robert Saleh at 0-5, but he finally got his first win as the Titans’ head coach out of the way.
Now, Saleh will be looking for his first home win which he has a shot at this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. No one would have thought that the Browns would be in first place in the AFC North at this point at 4-2, but that gives the Titans a chance to throw a wrench in their momentum.
The Browns don't have the most talented team by any means, but they play tough and they do enough to get hard-fought victories. All of their wins have been by 4 points or less. So, fans should expect a close matchup this week and there is one battle the Titans need to win in order to take down Cleveland.
1 key matchup stands in the way of a Titans win over Browns
You can have some of the top skill players in the league along with a top quarterback that is an MVP candidate. However, if you don't have the offensive line to protect you or give you time to let the play develop, then you can only go so far.
Cleveland's offensive line has allowed Deshaun Watson to be sacked 24 times in six games. That is a lot for a quarterback to take, which is why it's very surprising that the Browns are at 4-2. As for the Titans, they have 16 sacks on the year which includes getting to Daniel Jones six times in Week 6 (and racking up 11 total QB hits).
The team that wins in the trenches is typically the one that comes out victorious. It's not always the case, but it's very common.
Winning in the trenches is the key for Titans to upset Browns
We are at a point where the Browns are looking like a legitimate postseason contenders. Are they Super Bowl contenders? No, absolutely not and it's not even up for discussion. At the same time, they do have a favorable matchup against the Titans because of the growing pains Tennessee has endured this season.
However, with what Saleh's defense proved capable of last week versus the Colts, it showed fans a small sample of their capabilities to impact the pocket. Throw in the factor that Watson is the most sacked QB in football right now, and the Titans have a big advantage on Sunday.
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