The GameDay Opening Drive 12/7: AFC Central Nostalgia Showdown
The former division rivals square off in a game somebody has to win.
It’s gameday in Cleveland and it’s going to be a cold one, folks. The wind will be whipping and we might see some snow falling. This will have all the throwback vibes of the outdoor football the anti-dome folks love. With those conditions, and the way both the Browns’ and Titans’ offenses have been playing this year, it has a chance to challenge the over/under line even if it was down in the mid 20s.
We do get to see Cam Ward, who the Browns missed out on by one selection, face his friend Shedeur Sanders. The two trained together throughout the draft process and formed a deep friendship. Ward certainly has a much tougher defense to face in the battle but the Titans will make life tough on Sanders as well.
The matchup today is all about draft position, though. The Browns win this game and getting a selection inside the top-5 becomes daunting. The Titans win and it removes their clear advantage for the top selection in the draft. Both teams will be gunning for the win on the field today but the impact of the outcome will ripple through the league’s offseason when assets are being collected and trades are hoping to happen. We shall see.
Buckle up — this one’s going to be ugly.
Stay warm inside for as long as you can today and while you do that, we start your day with the podcast you all love and trust.
GameDay Preview Podcast: Week 14, Browns vs Titans
It’s your game day edition of the Browns Film Breakdown! The Browns are set to host the Tennessee Titans, featuring first overall pick Cam Ward at Huntington Bank Field. In this edition, we cover all the essential information you need for the game, including TV broadcast details, announcers, the injury report, weather conditions, and much more. As alway…
Inside the weekly GameDay Opening Drive you will get all the pieces of information paired with your GameDay Podcast to enhance your Sundays with this team.
So, sit back, pour some coffee, turn on the best pre-game Browns song known to man, and enjoy a fresh delivery of crucial Week 14 information from yours truly.
Forecast calls for freezing and near-freezing conditions: around 34 °F at kickoff. Expect 54% chance of Snow/wintery mix to begin in the morning at 10 -11 AM Chances stay at about 50% until 6PM. Cold - 28 degrees feels much colder and windy 10-15 mph winds. This is your typical Cleveland December kickoff on the lake.
The Browns and Titans history goes back a long way because of the fact the Titans took their Houston Oilers history with them to Tennessee. That is the difference between the Browns/Ravens and Titans/Texans. The two sides shared a division for a long time until the 2002 season and it spoiled a rich history. The two sides got together for the first time in 1970 when the merger hit and the Browns dominated the early phases of the matchups winning the first nine games and 12 of the first 15. Then the Oilers dominated the 90’s as both the Houston version and the Titans when they moved in 1999.
Overall, the Browns lead the all-time series 37-32-0 with two wins in their last two matchups in 2020 and 2023.
Another week, another parlay on FanDuel that gets us some nice odds where you can lock in another 25% profit boost and get some better odds. We only turn to four legs in this one and lean into only players getting results recently. Leaning into Jerry Jeudy getting only the receptions, Fannin Jr. on yards, and then Judkins getting a majority of the overall work and best chances to score in the red zone. Let’s win some money.
The Browns go back to their “Alpha Dawg” uniform which has been successful in both times wearing the look — wins over the Packers and Dolphins. The Titans have basically only worn this look on the road while mixing in some baby blue for home games. Not a very creative effort by the Titans with uniforms this year and it will be a bit of a bland matchup in this one.
Let’s revisit the Browns miracle comeback win over the Titans in Week 5 of the 2014 season. Brian Hoyer threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin with 1:09 left, and the Browns rallied from a 25-point deficit to beat the Tennessee Titans 29-28 on that wild Sunday. It was the largest comeback in league history by a road team. Only two other clubs have come back from bigger deficits in the regular season. San Francisco rallied from 28 down in beating New Orleans on Dec. 7, 1980, and Buffalo trailed 26-0 before beating Indianapolis 37-35 on Sept. 21, 1997.
Catch us LIVE after the game on the Browns Film Breakdown Show where we will cover everything Post-Game at 4:25PM on our YouTube Channel.
As always, Go Browns!
