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The 8-3 Cleveland Browns will travel to Nissan Stadium in Week 13 to take on the Tennessee Titans, who are also 8-3.
Both the Browns and Titans are coming off wins in Week 12. Cleveland defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, while Tennessee took care of the Indianapolis Colts.
The Browns and Titans played each other last season in what was a blowout win for Tennessee. Cleveland lost by a final score of 43-13, with Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield throwing three interceptions.
With the Browns-Titans game set to kick off soon, let's take a look at four bold predictions for the contest from a Cleveland point of view.
1. Baker Mayfield throws one touchdown, two interceptions
Through 11 games this season, Mayfield has 17 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. He's completing 61.2 percent of his passes for 2,108 yards.
The Titans are giving up 25.9 points per game on the season, which is 20th in the NFL. The Browns, meanwhile, are averaging 24.1, 18th in the league. While Mayfield has been playing well as of late, he has a history of playing poorly against good teams such as the Titans.
With that being said, we have Mayfield throwing one touchdown and two interceptions against the Titans in Week 13. As we mentioned, the last time the Browns faced Tennessee, Mayfield was terrible. Even though the former No. 1 overall pick hasn't thrown an interception since Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Mayfield has played the Las Vegas Raiders, Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles and Jaguars.
Those aren't exactly stout teams in the NFL, so until Mayfield can prove he can play well versus good teams, we can't buy into the hype yet.
2. Nick Chubb records fourth straight 100-yard game
One of the best running backs in the NFL, Nick Chubb is having a stellar season for the Browns. In seven games, the 24-year-old has rushed for 719 yards on 115 carries. Chubb also has six rushing touchdowns.
Against the Titans, we have Chubb rushing for over 100 yards for his fourth straight 100-yard game. The Browns' workhorse ran for 126 yards in Week 10 against the Texans, 114 in Week 11 versus the Eagles and 144 in Week 12 against the Jaguars last week.
Chubb racked up 75 rushing yards last season vs. the Titans when Tennessee defeated the Browns. We expect the one-time Pro Bowler to have much more success this time around since he's in a really good groove at the moment and the Titans are 17th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed.
3. Browns struggle against Derrick Henry
The Browns activated defensive star Myles Garrett off the reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday, clearing the way for the former No. 1 overall pick to play against the Titans. Garrett is tied for the league lead with four forced fumbles, so the Browns are certainly thrilled to have him back in the lineup since Titans superstar running back Derrick Henry is having a tremendous season.
Even though Garrett will play for the Browns, though, we have Henry going off in Week 13 since he's such a hard guy to contain for four quarters. The 26-year-old has carried the ball 256 times this season for 1,257 rushing yards and 12 scores.
Henry ran for three scores in Week 12 against the Colts, who have one of the best defenses in the NFL. That doesn't bode well for Cleveland.
In three career games against the Browns, Henry has carried the ball 34 times for 104 yards. He has two touchdowns as well, one on the ground and one through the air. Both of those scores came last season versus Cleveland.
4. Browns lose to Titans, drop to 8-4
Cleveland is having a really sound season despite losing wideout Odell Beckham Jr. to an ACL tear. However, as we stated earlier, their schedule has been really easy this season. The only good team the Browns have defeated is the Colts. Other than that, none of their wins are impressive.
With that being said, we have the Browns coming back down to earth in Week 13 against an excellent Titans team and losing to drop to 8-4 on the season. While the playoffs are still in reach for Cleveland, this Week 13 loss will be devastating for the Browns, who are trying to make the postseason for the first time since 2002.
There's a reason Mayfield is only 20-20 as a starting quarterback in the NFL and has 42 interceptions in 41 games. While he's shown some flashes of brilliance this season, Mayfield usually comes up short against tougher opponents. He was awful in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens and in Week 6 versus the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Browns are going to come up short against the Titans since their starting QB hasn't proven to be a winning player yet.
