Brown & pound
Two dominant run games square off
WHO WOULD have thought the Browns would be part of an NFL Big Game in Week 13 of the season?
But here we are: The 8-3 Browns’ game against the 8-3 Titans on Sunday in Nashville, Tenn., is the marquee matchup of the week, The Post’s Big Game.
This is the Browns’ best start since 1994 as they pursue their first playoff berth since 2002. The Browns haven’t started 9-3 since ’94.
The Browns’ 12 consecutive years finishing under .500 is tied for the second-longest in NFL history. Only the Buccaneers, from 1983 to 1996, had a longer stretch of consecutive losing seasons. At 8-3, the Browns are assured of a .500 season at worst.
They, of course, aspire for much better than that.
“These are the things that we have been trying to build up to, and we are here now,’’ said Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, who’s gone the past four games without throwing an interception. “We are in the middle of it, so let’s seize the moment.’’
To do so on Sunday, the Browns, who’ve been feasting on the weaklings of late, will have to overcome the best team they’ve faced all season.
Cleveland has won its past three games by a combined 10 points against the Eagles (3-8-1), Texans (4-7) and Jaguars (1-10). The Browns have only one win over a team currently with a winning record.
The Titans represent a significant step up in class as leaders of the AFC South after road wins over the Ravens and Colts last week. They’re trying to win their first division title since 2008.
“Hopefully we’re going out there with an attitude that we’re going to be hunting every single week, regardless of what our record is,’’ Titans coach Mike Vrabel said this past week.
If you’re watching this game on TV, you might not want to take a lot of snack or bathroom breaks, because it figures to go fast. The Browns and Titans are the NFL’s two top rushing offenses. The Browns average a league-best 161.4 yards per game with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. The Titans, led by Derrick Henry, are No. 2 in the league.
Chubb last week against Jacksonville rushed 19 times for 144 yards, and 104 of those yards came in the second half. Hunt added 62 yards on 10 carries and Cleveland finished with 206 rushing yards. When Chubb and Hunt play together, they average 199 yards rushing and the team is 6-1.
“It’s going to be a good matchup against those guys,’’ Henry told reporters.
There will, indeed, be a lot of running in this game. Since Henry was drafted in 2016, no running back has run for more yards or TDs in December than Henry, who has 1,511 yards averaging 5.38 yards per carry with 18 TDs. Henry enters this week’s game having rushed for at least 100 yards in each of the past three games, including 178 last week.
He leads the NFL with 1,257 rushing yards.
The Browns hope to counter on defense with the return of its top defensive end, Myles Garrett, who missed the past two games with COVID-19.
Garrett, who’s tied for second in the NFL with 9.5 sacks (in only nine games), will be chasing Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who’s sixth in the NFL with a 106.7 passer rating and has 23 TDs, only four INTs and has been sacked only 15 times.
The Browns sounded bullish on themselves this past week.
“We have some of our best football ahead of us,’’ Cleveland receiver Jarvis Landry told reporters.
“As a team, we haven’t played a full-complete game yet,’’ Browns guard Joel Bitonio said. “We won some games and we’ve been in some battles and a lot of onescore games the last few weeks, but if we put it all together, I think it is going to be something special.”