Just when you think things can’t get any worse for the Cleveland Browns, they get punched in the mouth at home by the worst team in football. Sunday’s 31-29 loss to the one-win Tennessee Titans will be a tough one for everyone on the Browns to swallow.
Rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders played his best game as a pro, and nearly led a 14-point comeback in the fourth quarter; the 23-year-old will be haunted, though, by a brutal interception in the third quarter that flipped the game on its head.
The defense, meanwhile, had its worst day, surrendering 31 points to a Titans team that came in averaging 15.5 per game. Even more jarring? Rookie QB Cam Ward only completed 14 passes.
The Titans mitigated the impact of defensive end Myles Garrett by feeding veteran running back Tony Pollard 25 carries, which he turned into 161 yards and two touchdowns. Those are rough numbers for Jim Schwartz’s defense, as the Titans entered Week 14 with the NFL’s 31st-ranked rushing attack.
Special teams had another disastrous showing, and head coach Kevin Stefanski riled up fans with yet another perplexing decision that helped decide the game.
Other than that, everything is awesome in Berea.
Best and worst from the Cleveland Browns’ 31-29 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Week 14
Winner: QB Shedeur Sanders
Sanders’ made arguably his worst decision as a pro when he threw late over the middle for a back-breaking interception early in the third quarter. The play literally helped snowball a 17-14 Browns lead into a 31-17 deficit midway through the fourth.
But what Sanders showed on the Browns’ final two scoring drives can’t be denied. Per The Athletic, he’s the first rookie QB in Browns history to have 300-plus passing yards, two-plus passing touchdowns, and a rushing TD — and he probably deserved better than Sunday’s result.
Winner: DE Myles Garrett
The Titans’ main objective Sunday was to protect the football and not let rookie quarterback Cam Ward get killed by Myles Garrett. They did a nice job, as Ward was able to lean on Pollard in the run game, and get the ball out quickly when he did attempt a pass.
The Browns could’ve used more help from Garrett against the run in this one, but he still got to Ward once in the game, becoming the first player in NFL history to reach 20 sacks in 13 games. Garrett now has at least one full sack in seven straight games and added four solo tackles, two tackles for loss, and a pass breakup against the Titans.
Loser: HC Kevin Stefanski
Browns fans left Sunday’s game furious over Stefanski’s decision to take the ball out Sanders’ hands on a two-point conversion attempt with the game on the line. While definitely a mind-numbing decision, Cleveland’s first two-point attempt was even more maddening.
After Sanders’ 7-yard touchdown run made it an eight-point game, 31-23, Stefanski followed his analytics sheet and kept the offense on the field, rather than kicking an extra point for a seven-point game. A fumbled snap wound up blowing up the two-point try before it even started, and the Browns thus had to go for two again after getting the second score they needed at the 1:03 mark.
Browns fans would love to see Stefanski stop trying to be the smartest guy on the field, understand his youth and limitations on offense, and just take the points. Going for two after the first score down 14 points might be the right move on paper based on what the analysts say, but it’s definitely not the right decision for the 2025 Browns.
Winner: TE Harold Fannin Jr.
Was there a better Day 2 pick in the entire 2025 NFL Draft? Other than Carson Schwesinger, probably not.
The connection that’s growing between Fannin and Sanders is next level. The rookie led the team in targets (11), receptions (8), and yards (114) on Sunday. He averaged 14.3 yards per reception and made a monster play to pull down Sanders’ well-placed lob to the back pylon that nearly forced overtime.
The silver lining from Sunday’s game? The Browns might have something special in Sanders, and Fannin looks like a budding superstar as a matchup nightmare with a wide receiver’s skillset who allows seems to gain positive yards after every catch.