Browns and Titans both in need of wins

They are similar teams trying to bounce back from three straight losses.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- They've both lost three straight games and badly need victories. They're each rebuilding amid a rash of injuries, which has forced them to use young, inexperienced players at key positions.
Their veterans have made plenty of mistakes, too.
At this point in the season, the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns are nearly identical -- and desperate -- teams.
"I think it's a situation that both teams need a win, especially with us going into a bye week after that," Titans quarterback Steve McNair said. "It's more a factor that we must win."
It's been a long time since the Titans (2-6) were in these dire circumstances. Midway through the season, they are off to their worst start under coach Jeff Fisher, who is 100-83 in 11 seasons.
The most challenging
This one, though, is proving to be his most challenging. The Titans have lost twice after blowing double-digit leads, and last week they fell behind 17-0 and couldn't catch up in a home loss to Oakland.
"We knew that there were going to be times ahead where we were potentially going to have some lean years," said Fisher, who has taken Tennessee to the AFC playoffs four times and the Super Bowl in 1999. "We're in the middle of them, and I think this is going to be the last one. With that in mind, we still had very high expectations for this very young football team this year."
The NFL's youngest team, the Titans started five rookies a week ago against the Raiders. Fisher isn't naive enough to think there won't be any mistakes, he can only hope they're kept to a minimum.
"There's a learning curve that the younger players have to go through," he said. "I think it's impossible to go through the experiences that you need to experience through the course of one season. You need more time than that, so the learning curve is the thing that we're challenged with every day."
Browns on rebound
The same could be said for the Browns (2-5), who are looking to bounce back after losing to the previously winless Houston Texans last week.
Coach Romeo Crennel decided to stay with veteran quarterback Trent Dilfer for at least one more week, favoring experience over the spark he might get by playing rookie Charlie Frye.
Cleveland's offense has sputtered all season behind Dilfer, who has thrown seven touchdown passes -- one in the past three weeks -- and eight interceptions. The Browns have scored only three offensive TDs in the past 20 quarters.
One of Dilfer's biggest deficiencies has been on third down. At 31.6 percent, the Browns are tied for 29th in the league in converting on third downs, ahead of only Denver and San Francisco.
Crennel spent a chunk of the practice week working on improving Cleveland's third-down conversion rate.
"We have to protect better," he said. "We have to run better routes. We have to catch better. We have to throw better. Also, I told them that maybe I have to call better plays on third down to try to help us get over the hump and be more efficient. We're all in it together."
Has no illusions
Crennel never had any illusions about what the Browns could accomplish this season. New England's former defensive coordinator was brought to Cleveland to clean up a mess, and after four weeks, it appeared he was ahead of schedule.
However, a three-game losing streak -- two of the losses were by three points -- has slowed the Browns' progress.