NASHVILLE, Tenn. — One week after finally getting into the win column, the Tennessee Titans return to Nissan Stadium on Sunday to see whether they can stack two in a row against a Cleveland team sitting near the top of its division.
Kickoff is set for noon Central. Tennessee is 1-5, while the Browns are 4-2 and hold the tiebreaker for first place in an AFC North that has three teams at 4-2.
The Titans earned their first victory last Sunday in Indianapolis, rallying from a 13-0 halftime hole to beat the Colts 26-20 with 20 fourth-quarter points. Rookie receiver Carnell Tate caught his first NFL touchdown, an eight-yard throw from Cam Ward, and led the team with six catches for 70 yards. A blocked punt that Oluwafemi Oladejo returned 14 yards for a score broke a 13-13 tie, and Joey Slye added four second-half field goals, one from 56 yards.
The defense had six sacks in that game, two each from Jeffery Simmons and Jermaine Johnson II. Still, Tennessee ran just 45 offensive plays to 78 for Indianapolis.
Cleveland arrives with four wins in its last five outings and leans on defense under first-year head coach Todd Monken. They allow 20.3 points a game and their 19 sacks rank second in the league. Last week they held Baltimore, which had been scoring 30 points a game, to 13 first downs and 235 yards in a 13-10 win sealed by an Andre Szmyt field goal at the final whistle. Quarterback Deshaun Watson has thrown for 1,174 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions.
Cleveland leads the all-time series 37-33, but Tennessee won the last meeting 31-29 last December, when Tony Pollard ran for a career-high 161 yards. Sunday is also the club’s annual Salute to Service game honoring the military.
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