Point Spread: Slight Line Increase For Titans' Road Game With Browns
CLEVELAND, Ohio — It's tough to win on the road in the NFL, but it's not impossible. It usually takes clean football, a defense that travels, and just enough big plays at the right time.
That's certainly the recipe on Sunday for the Tennessee Titans, who are here in Cleveland this weekend to take on a Cleveland Browns team that can cause a lot of problems. Both teams are 1-1, and both win with defense.
So, who's better?
Oddsmakers favor the Browns, and the point spread has bounced around just a touch. It's gone from a 3-point line to 3.5 and back. According to the gambling website Fanduel,com, the line is at 3.5 points as of 8 a.m. ET on Sunday. The over/under is 38.5.
There are a lot of factors in play here, and several of them actually favor the Titans. The Browns had to play on Monday night — on the road, no less — and lost 26-22 to the Pittsburgh Steelers despite being 2-point favorites. That final score is really deceiving, though, because the Steelers scored their first touchdown on an interception return and their last one — the game-winner — on a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
That's why the Browns are probably feeling good about about winning on Sunday. They outplayed Pittsburgh, but their two bad turnovers killed them. Their defense was actually very good, and they can clean up the mistakes.
And let's not forget what the Browns did in their first home game. They completely crushed the Cincinnati Bengals 24-3 in their opener, and the Bengals – who have one of the best offenses in the league, could muster just 142 yards of total offense. It was a dominating defensive performance.
There's no doubt it's going to be tough sledding for the Titans' offense on Sunday. Veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill will need to play well, and there's certainly no guarantee there. He was good in Sunday's 27-24 overtime win over the Chargers, completing 20-of-24 passes and accounting for two touchdowns.
But in the Titans' 16-15 loss at New Orleans in Week 1, he was awful. He threw three interceptions and missed open receivers on several occasions. That can't happen again.
The biggest problem the Browns pose is their ability to put pressure on the quarterback. Their pass rush, led by Myles Garrett, is always in your face. The Titans handled the Chargers' pressure well at times last week, able to strike downfield twice for big chunks. They'll need more of that on Sunday in Cleveland, to be sure.
Here are the point spreads for all NFL games this weekend
Sunday's games, spreads
- Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns (minus-3.5), Noon CT. TV: CBS.
- Atlanta Falcons at Detroit Lions (minus-3.5), Noon CT. TV: FOX.
- New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers (minus-1.5), Noon CT. TV: FOX.
- Denver Broncos at Miami Dolphins (minus-6), Noon CT. TV: CBS.
- Los Angeles Chargers at Minnesota Vikings (pick 'em), Noon CT. TV: FOX
- New England Patriots (minus-2.5) at New York Jets, Noon CT. TV: CBS.
- Buffalo Bills (minus-5.5) at Washington Commanders, Noon CT. TV: CBS.
- Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars (minus-7.5), Noon CT. TV: FOX.
- Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens (minus-8.5), Noon CT. TV: CBS.
- Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks (minus-5), 3:05 p.m. CT. TV: CBS.
- Chicago Bears at Kansas City Chiefs (minus-12.5), 3:25 p.m. CT. TV: FOX.
- Dallas Cowboys (minus-13) at Arizona Cardinals, 3:25 p.m. CT. TV: FOX.
- Pittsburgh Steelers at Las Vegas Raiders (minus-2.5), 7:20 p.m. CT. TV: NBC.
- (Mon.) Philadelphia Eagles (minus-5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 6:15 p.m. CT. TV: ABC
- (Mon.) Los Angeles Rams at Cincinnati Bengals (minus-2.5), 7:15 p.m. CT. TV: ESPN.
- (Thurs.) San Francisco 49ers defeated New York Giants 30-12 at home as a 10.5-point favorite.
Related stories on Titans-Browns
- HOW TO WATCH: Here's everything you need to know on how to watch — or listen to — the Titans' game with the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, with gametime, TV info, and lots of newsy nuggets. CLICK HERE
- TOM BREW COLUMN: The Tennessee Titans have had five scoring drives in back-to-back games for the first time since October of 2021, and new offensive coordinator Tim Kelly has been pushing a lot of the right buttons. The offense is nowhere near perfect so far, but it's definitely a huge step in the right direction. CLICK HERE
- INJURY REPORT: The Tennessee Titans completed their week of practice and released the final injury report of Week 3 ahead of their matchup with the Cleveland Browns. We also saw a few roster moves including Kearis Jackson going on injured reserve. CLICK HERE
- TITANS DISGUISED COVERAGES: The Tennessee Titans had an excellent game plan on defense against the Chargers that included disguised and complex coverages. It unlocked the pass rush and got the Titans off the field on big third downs. CLICK HERE
