The Tennessee Titans walked into Cleveland as a two-win team and walked out with a season-saving upset — and maybe the blueprint for beating the Browns the rest of the year.
On Sunday, Tennessee leaned on Tony Pollard’s monster ground game and a barrage of impact plays on defense and special teams to edge the Browns 31–29, snapping a seven-game losing streak and handing Cleveland a loss that raised serious questions about its once-proud run defense.
Pollard Runs Wild, Titans Finally Finish One
For a franchise staring at back-to-back years in the No. 1 overall draft-pick conversation, this was the kind of gritty win the Titans badly needed.
-
Tony Pollard delivered a
career-high 161 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 25 carries, as Tennessee averaged
5.3 yards per rush and piled up
184 rushing yards overall.
- His signature moment: a
65-yard touchdown sprint late in the first quarter that blew the game open early and put Tennessee up 14–3.
- Pollard later added a
32-yard TD run in the third quarter that swung momentum back to the Titans right after a key defensive takeaway.
Inside the locker room, linebacker
Cedric Gray made it clear this team isn’t tanking for draft position.
“We hadn’t won since Week 5, so it feels amazing… I’m not worried about the No. 1 overall pick. We’re ballplayers,” Gray said after posting a team-high 10 tackles and a fumble recovery.
For interim head coach
Mike McCoy, it was his
first win in seven games since replacing Brian Callahan, and it came exactly how he’s been preaching it: all three phases contributing.
Browns’ Rookie QB Shines — But Mistakes Prove Costly
This wasn’t a lifeless Browns performance. It was the opposite: big plays everywhere, especially from their new franchise hopeful under center.
Rookie quarterback
Shedeur Sanders:
- Threw for
over 300 yards, becoming the Browns’ first rookie QB since
Baker Mayfield to hit that mark in a game.
- Completed
23 of 42 passes, including a late touchdown to fellow rookie
Harold Fannin Jr., who finished with
8 catches for 114 yards and a score.
- Added a
7-yard rushing TD in the fourth quarter, nearly dragging Cleveland all the way back.
But there were two glaring swings:
- In the third quarter, Sanders forced a deep ball that
Titans safety Xavier Woods intercepted and returned 35 yards to the Cleveland 38.
- Two plays later, Pollard’s 32-yard touchdown put Tennessee ahead for good.
That sequence was the definition of the NFL cliché:
a four-point swing that turned into a 14-point problem.Special Teams Disaster, Two-Point Failures Doom Cleveland
Beyond the interception, the Browns were sabotaged by
special teams breakdowns and red-zone execution.
Key moments:
- Titans defender
James Williams Sr. blocked a Browns punt, setting up a short field that led to a Joey Slye field goal and a two-score lead.
- Gray’s fumble recovery at the Cleveland 8 set up a
5-yard TD pass from C.J. Ward to Chimere Dike, stretching the Titans’ lead to 28–17.
- In the frantic final minutes, the Browns scored
two late touchdowns, but
failed on both 2-point conversion attempts, leaving them two points short.
After the final touchdown — Sanders to Fannin with 1:03 left — Cleveland tried an onside kick. Titans receiver
Chimere Dike recovered it, and Tennessee ran out the clock.
Head coach
Kevin Stefanski did not sugarcoat it afterward: the Browns were beaten in the trenches and in details.
He pointed directly at three issues:
- Run defense not up to standard
- Ball security problems
- The blocked punt and failed 2-point tries being “frustrating” and on “all of us”
Browns’ Run Defense Exposed — And The Timing Couldn’t Be Worse
If there’s one storyline echoing in Cleveland this week, it’s this:
how did the Browns’ defense get gashed like that on the ground — and can they fix it fast enough?The numbers are brutal:
-
184 rushing yards allowed to a Titans team that has been inconsistent at best this year.
- Pollard alone over 160 on the ground, with explosive runs on the edges and off-tackle.
All-Pro edge rusher
Myles Garrett admitted the defense got caught chasing sacks instead of respecting the run. He said the unit was “licking our chops for the pass” while the Titans stuck stubbornly to the ground game, and that they needed to be more focused on stopping the run.
Local analysis in Cleveland has already turned the page to the next opponent — and it’s a scary one for a team suddenly unsure of its run fits.
According to the
Akron Beacon Journal, the Browns now must face a
Chicago Bears offense that ranks among the NFL’s best rushing attacks, putting immediate pressure on coordinator Jim Schwartz to correct the run issues exposed by Tennessee. The outlet notes that the Titans game served as a warning shot: if Cleveland doesn’t shore up its gap integrity and tackling, the Bears’ versatile run game could make things even worse.
Injury Pileup Adds To Browns’ Concerns
As if the loss and defensive issues weren’t enough, the Browns walked away with a
worrying injury list.
Players who left the game:
-
WR Malachi Corley – concussion
-
TE David Njoku – knee injury
-
C Ethan Pocic – Achilles tendon
-
CB Denzel Ward – calf
-
WR Cedric Tillman – concussion
On the Titans’ side,
left tackle Dan Moore left with a
neck injury in the third quarter.
For Cleveland, this isn’t just about one game. Pocic and Ward are core players up the spine of the offense and defense. If any of these injuries linger, the ripple effect could be significant for both pass protection and coverage going forward.
Titans Find Identity, Browns Search For Answers
This matchup felt like two teams at crossroads:
- The
Titans, mired in a brutal season, finally leaned fully into
power running, opportunistic defense, and aggressive special teams — and got rewarded for it.
- The
Browns, transitioning into the
Shedeur Sanders era, saw the promise of their rookie QB and young weapons but were betrayed by
run defense lapses, special teams breakdowns, and situational failures.
From a broader AFC picture, this game won’t define the playoff race. But it might define something more important for both franchises:
- For Tennessee, this is proof that a physical, run-first identity can still win, even in a pass-happy league.
- For Cleveland, it’s a flashing red light: if they want Sanders to develop in meaningful games, they need their defense and special teams to stop putting him in constant comeback mode.
Expect this tape — especially Pollard’s long runs and the blocked punt — to be on every opponent’s scouting reel when they prepare for the Browns in the weeks ahead.
What To Watch Next
Here’s what this game sets up going forward:
-
Titans at 49ers next: A brutal test to see if their renewed confidence and run game can carry over against one of the league’s most physical defenses.
-
Browns at Bears: A direct stress test of Cleveland’s ability to fix its run defense in one week against an elite rushing team.
-
Shedeur Sanders’ progression: Despite the loss, his 300-yard performance and late-game poise will keep the optimism alive in Cleveland, even as the team works through growing pains.
If this Titans-Browns thriller showed anything, it’s that records don’t always tell the story. On Sunday, a two-win team walked into Cleveland and
dictated terms in the trenches — and until the Browns prove they can stop that, every offensive coordinator on their schedule just took notes.
Sources
1. Tennessee Titans vs. Cleveland Browns Live Score and Stats
2. Can Browns fix issues vs. run before facing Bears' rushing offense?
3. SHEDEUR COOKS TITANS IN BROWNS LOSS - 12/8/2025 - YouTube
4. Positives from Sunday's loss to the Titans - 12.08.25
