Dawg Pound Daily
FanSided

Browns take down the Titans, 28-14

By Thomas Moore

facebooktwitterreddit

Sep 20, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns wide receiver Travis Benjamin (11) returns for a punt for a touchdown during the second quarter against the Tennessee Titans at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

It was a day of firsts for the Cleveland Browns on Sunday as they defeated the Tennessee Titans, 28-14.

It was:

  • The first time the Browns scored 14 points in the first quarter of a home game since a Week 12 game against Carolina in 2010.
  • The first time the Browns scored touchdowns on the first two drives of a game since a Week 5 game against Carolina in 2012.
  • The first time the Browns took a 21-point halftime lead since a game against Seattle on Dec. 24, 1994.
  • The first time the Browns have won consecutive home openers since … well, it has been a while.
  • The first win of any kind since last November against Atlanta.

Most importantly, however, it was the first career win as a starting quarterback for Johnny Manziel.

Manziel and the Browns got the crowd into the game in the opening quarter as Manziel hit wide receiver Travis Benjamin with a 60-yard touchdown pass on Cleveland’s first possession of the game. The offense followed that up on its next possession with a seven-play, 50-yard scoring drive capped off by an 11-yard touchdown run from Isaiah Crowell.

Everything was going the Browns way in the first half as the defense made Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota look like a rookie quarterback making just his second NFL start and that man Benjamin returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown just before the half.

But just like the offense went to sleep against the Jets after an opening touchdown from Manziel to Benjamin, the Browns offense took most of the rest of the day off after taking that 14-0 lead.

On their next seven possessions, the Browns would have five series that went three-and-out, and put up a total of just 63 yards of offense.

While the offense was busy bumbling along, the Titans slowly worked their way back into the game on a pair of Mariota touchdown passes, the first a 19-yarder to Anthony Fasano, the second a 13-yarder to Dorial Green-Beckham that cut the Cleveland lead to just seven with 6:48 remaining in the game.

But just when Browns fans were expecting the worse, the offense took the game over.

The Browns brought out the ground-and-pound to work the clock and gained 30 yards on the first six plays of the drive with Crowell rushing four times for 25 yards and Duke Johnson adding five yards on two carries.

Facing a third-and-six from the 50, with the very real possibility of turning the ball back over to the Titans, Manziel rolled out to his left and once again hit Benjamin, this time for a game-sealing 50-yard touchdown pass.

Benjamin’s third touchdown of the day gives him five career touchdowns in just two games against the Titans.

It wasn’t pretty at times, but all three parts of the team – offense, defense and special teams – had a hand in the win.

The defense sacked Mariota seven times and had an interception wiped out by a penalty. The defense still gave up too many rushing yards – 166 total and 5.5 yards per carry – but they were active, harassed Mariota continuously, and did enough long enough to help secure the win.

In addition to catching three passes for 115 yards and the pair of touchdowns, Benjamin returned six punts for 154 yards and a score and, in the process, made those people who wanted to the Browns to cut him in training camp scratching their heads.

More from Dawg Pound Daily

Finally, the offense made a play when it had to at the end.

While the Browns only rushed for 3.9 yards per carry, they did break the 100-yard mark and got the yards they needed on the final scoring drive. Crowell finished with 72 yards and 4.8 yards per carry, which will get the job done every week, while Johnson added 43 yards on 12 carries. Most importantly, a running back actually led the Browns in rushing.

Then there is Manziel, who:

  • Looked good early as he was four-of-four on the two opening scoring drives;
  • Looked horrible for much of the game, going just three-of-10 between the second drive until the final one; and then,
  • Made something happen when the Browns needed it on the final scoring drive.

Add it all up and Manziel was eight-of-15 for 172 yards and two touchdown passes. He was sacked twice and fumbled twice, with the Browns recovering both, but didn’t throw an interception.

Was it a great performance? No. Was it enough to make Josh McCown worry about his starting job? No, no matter how much people will try to tell you otherwise. Was it good enough to come away with the win? Most definitely.

And, for today at least, that is all that matters.

Next: Report: Some coaches want to cut Dwayne Bowe

Home/Browns News