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No team wants to distance itself from last season 鈥?or even the previous year 鈥?more than the Cleveland Browns.

They get a chance to prove all of those offseason maneuvers paid off when they host their archrivals Brendan Leipsic Jersey Kids , the Steelers, on Sunday.

No, it's not fair to fully judge Cleveland's progress in the opener. It is tempting, though, considering how the roster has been revamped and the enthusiasm has been ramped up.

"Honestly, I would rather not look back," says Browns coach Hue Jackson, and why would he with a 1-31 record in charge? "I just feel really good about this group. We have to get ourselves ready to play. It is a big-time game this week. This is against the best team in our division. It is a huge game."

It also doesn't hurt the Browns that Pittsburgh has been missing one of its best players, star running back and holdout Le'Veon Bell.

Still, as Jackson notes, the Steelers have been the cream of the AFC North for a long time, while the Browns have been the downtrodden.

Regardless of Bell's status 鈥?James Conner is the backup 鈥?the Steelers have a dynamic offense thanks to receiver Antonio Brown, perhaps the NFL's best player; quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, still a force in his 15th pro season; and a talented offensive line.

"If we start off with James, I think we'll be fine either way," guard Ramon Foster says. "He's a guy that's made strides. He's made us confident in him. So he gets the start Phil Kessel Jersey , we roll with him. No disrespect to (Bell), we've got to move. This is a moving train."

The season opened Thursday night when the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles got past the Atlanta Falcons 18-12 in a sloppy, penalty-filled game.

Jay Ajayi scored his second touchdown on an 11-yard run with 2:19 remaining, and the Eagles withstood a two-minute drive by Matt Ryan and the Falcons, with Julio Jones failing to come down with Ryan's high pass on the final play from the 5-yard line.

The game was marred by penalties, dropped passes, missed assignments and weak quarterbacking. Foles threw for 117 yards and an interception, and Ryan completed less than 50 percent of his passes. Neither threw for a touchdown.

San Francisco at Minnesota

Yes, quarterbacks get too much attention these days. Still, this is one game where they have to be the focal point.

The Vikings spent about the entire budget of the state of Minnesota on Kirk Cousins after he played two seasons under the franchise tag in Washington. So while the return of rookie sensation (until he hurt his knee) Dalvin Cook to the backfield is quite intriguing, most eyes will be on how Cousins fares with far more talent around him.

San Francisco was in QB purgatory a year ago, then pulled off an October deal for Jimmy Garoppolo. The youngster who hasn't lost in seven career starts, got a huge contract, too. He'll face one of the NFL's toughest defenses in this one.

New York Jets at Detroit, Monday night

OK, excuse us if http://www.officialknightsproshop.com/authentic-adidas-brad-hunt-jersey , one more time, we concentrate on the quarterback. This one is Sam Darnold , the only member of the five first-round passers in this year's draft who will get a start. He has poise, lots of arm talent and the ability to escape trouble.

Of course, he's also a J-E-T-S QB; the last true franchise guy they had was Joe Namath.

"I know that just because I got named the starter doesn't mean we won the game Monday night," the Southern Cal product says. "It's awesome and I'm really happy to be the starting quarterback, but I also know that I've got to go out there and do my job."

He'll try to do it against new Lions coach Matt Patricia's defensive acumen. Patricia comes from New England, so the pedigree is impressive.

Los Angeles Rams at Oakland, Monday night

Another 2018 newcomer 鈥?actually a returning megastar 鈥?is Raiders coach Jon Gruden. Enticed out of the ESPN broadcast booth, given full reign in Oakland along with major money, Gruden already has flexed his power by trading the Raiders' best player, pass rusher supreme Khalil Mack .

That probably won't temper the rabid Black Hole for the opener. What might is a Rams club with perhaps the most talented roster in the NFL, led by DT Aaron Donald and RB Todd Gurley.

Cincinnati at Indianapolis

Another key returnee (and, yeah, a QB) is Andrew Luck for the Colts. A shoulder injury that some claim was misdiagnosed, others say was mishandled http://www.officialkings.com/authentic-adidas-alex-iafallo-jersey , sidelined him for all of 2017. When healthy, he is elite, although the roster under new coach Frank Reich appears anything but.

Cincinnati brought back Marvin Lewis, the second-longest tenured coach in the NFL, and also re-signed its top two defenders, Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins. They'll try to wreak havoc on Luck.

Tennessee at Miami

Mike Vrabel won three Super Bowls as a linebacker and sometime TD-catching receiver. He takes over a Titans squad that made the playoffs and upset Kansas City last winter, and seeks to build on such success in the rugged AFC South. Look for RB Derrick Henry to be the workhorse on offense and CB Malcolm Butler trying to show he deserved to play for the Patriots in their Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia.

The Dolphins' season could depend on how much Frank Gore has left as a ball carrier. Gore is closing in on fourth place on the career rushing list, seemingly Hall of Fame credentials.

Washington at Arizona

Like Patricia and to a lesser extent Vrabel, new Cardinals coach Steve Wilks made his reputation as a defensive coordinator with Carolina. One thing for sure, he will have the Cardinals playing a more physical style than in recent seasons. On offense, he gets back fantasy football go-to David Johnson at running back.

With the Cousins years over, Alex Smith was acquired and will make few mistakes at quarterback. He doesn't have a ton to work with, unless recently signed Adrian Peterson still excels. Don't bet against Peterson.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans remain winless through three preseason games with a brand-new coaching staff busy trying to fix issues on offense and defense.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota and his No. 1 wide receiver Corey Davis had trouble connecting on not one, but two third downs. Both Mariota and Davis tried to take the blame for the miscommunication in a 16-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday.

On Sunday, first-year head coach Mike Vrabel tried to absolve both Mariota and Davis by taking the blame himself.

“Up until this point Tyson Barrie Jersey , I haven’t done a good enough job making sure that both those guys know where each other’s going to be on every single route,” Vrabel said.

“And I’ll make sure that that happens because the guy throwing the ball and the guy catching the ball those are the only two guys that really at that point in time matter.”

Mariota had driven the Titans to touchdowns on two of their first three drives this preseason.

Yet both the quarterback and the Titans offense managed just 52 yards in the first half with Mariota sacked twice and intercepted once. Mariota finished 5 of 8 for 43 yards.

Davis, the fifth overall pick in 2017 and first wide receiver drafted , has yet to catch a pass in a preseason game. A hamstring injury kept him out of the preseason last year, and he has not caught a pass in his two games this preseason.

The Titans are installing a new offense, Mariota’s third going into his fourth NFL season. They had a chance for a big play on the opening drive on third-and-8 when Davis ran toward the end zone based on coverage with Mariota throwing to where the quarterback had expected his receiver to be. Mariota overthrew Davis on third-and-6 across the middle on their second drive.

Vrabel said the Titans will be relying heavily on both Mariota and Davis this season. Vrabel called it unfortunate that there was some uncertainty when Davis was uncovered.

“It’s important that Corey and Marcus are on the same page,” Vrabel said.

Along with trust, the Titans need much more consistency. Mariota hit Tajae Sharpe with an 11-yard pass on third-and-10 to keep the first drive moving. Derrick Henry converted a third-and-1 on the same drive that ended in a punt.

The Titans went three-and-out on the next two drives before Mariota threw across his body and was intercepted to end his fourth and final drive.

“Consistency is going to be something that’s important,” Vrabel said.

The Titans also have issues to clean up on defense where cornerback Adoree Jackson was beaten on the Steelers’ lone touchdown, a 32-yard pass. Linebacker Jayon Brown was flagged for hitting a defenseless receiver, though Vrabel has asked the NFL to clarify the penalty he thought was lowering-the-head-to-initiate contact.

Penalties remain an issue with Tennessee flagged nine times for 51 yards, improvement from a week ago when the Titans were penalized 11 times for 134 yards in a loss to Tampa Bay.

The Titans wrap up the preseason Thursday night by hosting Minnesota (2-1). Vrabel’s focus is on fixing issues while trying to continue healing as many players as possible before opening the season Sept. 9 at Miami. A total of 12 Titans didn’t play in Pittsburgh, including six starters.

“We just got to find out who’s going to be ready for us on a short week,” Vrabel said.
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