The Browns finally got the kind of offensive burst that can change the tone of a season, and it came with their rookie left tackle at the center of it.
Cleveland had been floundering on that side of the ball all year. Entering the Titans game, the Browns sat 28th in points per game and 29th in yards per game. Then they turned around and ripped off 491 total yards and 27 points in a 27-24 win over Tennessee.
A lot of the attention naturally went to Deshaun Watson’s 308 passing yards and Quinshon Judkins’ 96 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns. But Spencer Fano was just as important in the win.
The Browns used the ninth overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on the Utah offensive tackle, betting on his long-term upside even though he played right tackle in his final college season. Cleveland wanted him on the left side, the spot that protects the quarterback’s blind side, and he had worked there earlier in his career. So far, Fano has started every game at left tackle.
Against Tennessee, he delivered his best showing yet. Fano posted a 92.2 PFF grade, his highest of the season, and it made him the Browns’ top-graded offensive player in the victory.
That matters because the Titans brought a legitimate front. Jeffery Simmons and John Franklin-Myers were part of the challenge, and Fano still came out with his most complete NFL performance to date despite Tennessee’s 1-6 record.
The tape matched the grade. One of the clips shared from the game highlighted the kind of work that can quietly tilt a matchup: Fano down blocking on Simmons, Boston cracking on the safety, Barber kicking out, Fannin pulling, and Judkins finishing the play with a tough, tight run that forced a miss.
That’s the encouraging part for Cleveland. Fano has already flashed, but this game looked like the first full version of what the Browns hoped they were drafting. If he keeps stacking performances like this, the left tackle position could be locked down for a long time.
The schedule doesn’t ease up, either. Pittsburgh is next, and the Browns haven’t won a regular-season game there since 2003.
Fano’s next test comes against a Steelers front headlined by T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Cam Heyward.
If he can carry this momentum into that matchup, Cleveland may be looking at something much bigger than one strong outing.
In Other News...
Browns Fans Have A Real Beef With How The League Treated Steelers Week
The AFC North is suddenly looking every bit like the leagues most compelling division race, with the Browns and Steelers both sitting at 5-2 after Week 7 and Cincinnati right there after a win of its own. Clevelands next meeting with Pittsburgh had enough juice for the NFL to at least consider moving it into a prime-time spotlight, especially with both teams playing meaningful football this early in the season.
Instead, the league kept Eagles-Commanders in the Sunday night window, leaving Browns fans to wonder why a showdown with real division stakes did not get the extra stage. Cleveland still has plenty to play for, and Deshaun Watsons knack for late-game drives has been a major reason why, with five game-winning marches already this season. The issue now is not whether the Browns belong in the conversation, but whether the schedule makers saw the matchup the same way the standings do. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Set Up A Huge Steelers Showdown With First Place At Stake
The Browns Week 7 win over the Titans kept them in a familiar place for this point in October, sitting atop the AFC North at 5-2 and putting the division race squarely on their next game. Around them, the playoff picture in the AFC is already tightening, and the standings only sharpen the importance of every head-to-head matchup inside the division.
Pittsburgh now waits in Week 8 for a rematch that carries first place on the line, which is exactly the kind of late-October game that starts to tell you who is for real. The bigger league-wide backdrop is just as interesting, with both the AFC North and NFC North featuring all four teams above .500, a reminder that the division race in Cleveland is unfolding inside one of the NFLs deepest neighborhoods. [Read more 🡒]
Deshaun Watson May Have Finally Changed What Was Holding Browns Back
Deshaun Watsons most encouraging afternoon of the season may have been less about the box score than the way it looked while it was happening. In the Browns win over the Titans, Watson completed 70 percent of his passes on a season-high 36 attempts, and the bigger takeaway was the way he played within the offense. He looked more decisive, got rid of the ball faster and helped Cleveland find a rhythm that had been missing for much of the year.
The adjustment appears to have started after that rough first half in Week 6, when the offense seemed to hit a wall. Since then, Watson has leaned more on the passing game and less on his legs, a shift that has fit better under Todd Monken and made Clevelands attack look far more functional. The question now is whether this was a one-game reset or the start of a real change in how the Browns want to move forward. [Read more 🡒]