NASHVILLE – The vibes were good early at Nissan Stadium, as the Titans quickly built a two-touchdown lead.
But the mood shifted during the course of the game. More Sports News
And, when Browns kicker Andre Szmyt’s 32-yard field goal sailed through the uprights on the final play of the game, the Titans left feeling gutted and deflated after their 27-24 loss to the Browns.
“It’s very frustrating,” linebacker Cedric Gray said. “It definitely sucks, playing in a game like that – close game, high atmosphere, coming off a win last week. It sucks. It definitely sucks.”
Moments before the game-winning kick, the Titans tied it late.
Trailing 24-17 with just under five minutes left, Titans quarterback Cam Ward directed an 11-play, 63-yard drive that was capped off with a one-yard touchdown run by running back Tony Pollard.
The scoring drive tied the contest at 24-24 with 58 seconds left, and it gave the Titans hope.
But the Browns managed to quickly get into field goal range in the closing seconds to win it.
With the loss, the Titans dropped to 1-6.
“We could have taken the life out of that team in the first half,” dejected defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons said, “and we let them back in it. … We didn’t do enough, especially when it really mattered.”
Yes, the Titans made mistakes that came back to haunt them in the end.
The Titans turned the ball over twice in the game, and they came away with no points despite having a first-and-goal at the Cleveland four-yard line in the first half.
Defensively, the Titans couldn’t get any stops, as the Browns piled up 491 yards of offense – 308 through the air, and 183 on the ground.
It was a recipe for disaster.
“We didn’t do a good enough job in the run game, didn’t do a good enough job tackling, didn’t do good enough covering, didn’t do a good enough job coaching,” Titans coach Robert Saleh said. “Just not a good enough day on defense.”
Things looked good early, as the Titans got off to a fast start.
It was 7-0 Titans in just over two minutes on a 36-yard run by Pollard, who had 60 yards in the team’s opening drive.
After an interception by cornerback Cor’Dale Flott, the Titans were back in business.
And, soon, they’d be back in the end zone on another touchdown run by Pollard, this one from 10 yards out to make it 14-0 at the 8:35 mark of the first quarter.
In an action-packed first quarter, the Browns cut the lead to 14-7 in a five-yard touchdown run by Quinshon Judkins.
The Titans had a chance to extend their lead in the second quarter, but after a first-and-goal from the Cleveland four, they came away with no points after being stopped on three consecutive plays from the one-yard line. Instead of a 21-7 lead, the score remained 14-7.
The two teams swapped turnovers in the next two possessions, with Ward throwing an interception after Titans linebacker Anthony Hill forced a fumble, and safety Tony Adams recovered it, for the Titans on defense.
The Browns then tied the game at 14-14 on another touchdown run by Judkins, this one from five yards.
The Browns led 17-14 at the half on a 28-yard field goal by Szmyt.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Browns had a chance to extend their lead. But a 43-yard field goal try by Szmyt was no good, and the Titans got the ball back.
A 29-yard field goal by Titans kicker Joey Slye tied the game at 17-17 with 8:41 remaining.
But the Browns drove the ball 71 yards in just eight plays when they got the ball back, and retook the lead 24-17 on a nine-yard touchdown run by quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Then came the wild finish.
Pollard finished with 129 yards and three touchdowns in the game, and Ward completed 20-of-31 passes for 181 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
But on this day, it wasn’t enough as Watson threw for 308 yards, Judkins ran for 96 yards and two scores, and the Browns once again did enough to win for the fifth time in seven games this season.
“We shouldn’t have been in that close of a game,” Titans tackle JC Latham said. “I mean, we lost that game. And this game is about capitalizing off of your opponent’s mistake and they capitalized off of it. So, we lost that game.”
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