Cleveland Browns' Week 2 Film Review: 28-14 Win Over Titans

The Cleveland Browns picked up their first win of the regular season in their home opener, defeating the Tennessee Titans by a final score of 28-14. It was the first time the Browns have won home openers in two consecutive seasons since the early '90s. Here is my film review of this week's game.

NFL Week 2 Film Review

Tennessee Titans vs. Cleveland Browns
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	FINAL
	0	0	7	7	14
	14	7	0	7	28

1. Awarding the Game Ball: WR Travis Benjamin - For the second week in a row, Benjamin gets the game ball, but this time it's a victory game ball. All of these years, we've wondered, "why don't the Browns utilize Benjamin as a true deep threat receiver?" Finally, we have an offensive coordinator who is willing to put him on the outside and let him fly. What is also remarkable is that QB Brian Hoyer couldn't time up any of our receivers on the deep ball last year, and yet through two games, QB Johnny Manziel is already 3-of-3 for 3 touchdowns when targeting Benjamin deep.
   
   On top of Benjamin's receiving ability, he had a fantastic day returning punts. Heck, even when you take away his 78-yard punt return, he still averaged 15.2 yards per return on his other 5 attempts! Terrible startegy by the Titans, by the way, for not just saying, "the heck with it," and punting the ball high and short (to force a fair catch) or out of bounds.
   
   
2. Goat of the Game: SS Donte Whitner - Although I tip my hat to Whitner for appearing to force the fumble on RB Terrance West, Whitner wasn't able to stop a tight end group that was without their No. 1 tight end (Delanie Walker) and was also responsible for two of the Titans' biggest running plays of the game.
   
   
3. Step 1 to Opening the Running Game: After the Browns' defense forced a three-and-out to begin the game, Cleveland began their first drive at their own 38 yard line. The first play was a 2-yard carry by RB Isaiah Crowell.
   

   

   
   On the second play of the game, the Titans were looking to cheat up to stop the run. To prevent the box from being stacked throughout the game, the offense needs to establish a receiver as soon as possible who can be viewed as a legitimate player who can stretch the field. That's what happens here with WR Travis Benjamin, who is lined up wide right and streaking down the middle of the field. WR Brian Hartline is wide left running an in route, with TE Gary Barnidge dropping into the flat.
   

   

   
   Off of the playaction fake, the safety on Benjamin's side of the field has stepped up and now has a 0% chance of recovering to catch up to Benjamin. Now, the responsibility is solely on the cornerback to cover Benjamin, which is a tough task given Benjamin's speed and the fact that Benjamin has so much open space to the left that he can run toward.
   

   

   
   Benjamin cuts toward the middle a bit and Manziel lets loose a perfect throw for the 60-yard touchdown, giving the Browns a 7-0 lead. We saw this against the Jets early on, though, so fans still had to wonder how the rest of the game would go.
   
   
4. Welcome Back, Terrance West! It looks like Ray Farmer's operation to deal RB Terrance West to our Week 2 opponent, knowing that he'd produce a costly fumble to assist us in a win, has already paid dividends.
   

   

   
   Facing a 2nd-and-5 from their own 41 yard line, West's first carry of the game came with still over 10 minutes to play in the first quarter. The Titans' offensive line double teams NT Danny Shelton and then seals off the outside on West's left where DE Desmond Bryant is. That creates a gap (in the green) that ILB Karlos Dansby is ready to fill at the second level.
   

   

   
   Also notice SS Donte Whiter knifing in from the other side. West is going to try running straight to where Shelton is currently at, meaning Whitner and Dansby will converge on that spot.
   

   

   
   You can see the ball has slipped from West's grasp at this point -- it's already being fumbled. I watched the replay of this about 20 times, and the ball appears to be slipping just a hair before Dansby sticks his arm in there (Dansby was credited with the forced fumble in the game book). You can't see Whitner because of No. 62 engaged with Shelton, but Whitner is in front of them and was diving with his helmet headed toward West's midsection in the frames before this.
   

   

   
   You can see Whitner on the ground here after having hit West. The fumble might still have been up for grabs, but West does Cleveland another favor by tapping the ball into the air and right into the arms of CB Joe Haden (not pictured).
   
   
5. Receivers Learning to Keep Plays Alive: After the fumble, the Browns began their second offensive drive at the 50 yard line. They picked up a first down and now faced a 1st-and-10 from the Titans' 40-yard line.
   

   

   
   I love when receivers work to find an opening after a play breaks down -- it's a key ingredient that has the potential to separate the ability of QB Johnny Manziel from other quarterbacks in the NFL. On this play, WR Taylor Gabriel is lined up on the far left with TE Rob Housler next to him. TE Gary Barnidge is to the right of Manziel, with WR Andrew Hawkins on the outside. RB Duke Johnson is in the backfield.
   

   

   
   Manziel is well-protected but decides to roll out to his right to buy more time to find an open receiver since the left side of the field is covered. He could dump it in the flat to Johnson and try to let him get some yards after the catch. It would've been a good decision since this is a first down play. Hawkins continues his out route and then goes up the sideline. The cornerback originally on Hawkins starts cheating up on Johnson.
   

   

   
   When Hawkins goes vertical, the safety goes to the sideline, and that's when Hawkins immediately cuts back toward the middle.
   

   

   
   Manziel shows off his strong arm and accuracy on the run by hitting Hawkins for an 18-yard completion and a first down to the 22 yard line. A clipping penalty on the next play pushed Cleveland back, but they got a 1st-and-10 again thanks to a defensive penalty.
   
   
6. Shifting the Formation: Facing a 1st-and-10 from the 28 yard line, the Browns targeted a tight end for the first and only time in the game after having done so a lot more in Week 1.
   

   

   
   The Browns began with everybody packed tight except for WR Andrew Hawkins on the far left. They are going to shift the formation pre-snap so they have nobody in the backfield -- two receivers will be on the left, with a trips bunch on the right (if you match the colors, the circle is where they currently are, and the "X" is where they shift to).
   

   

   
   In the trips bunch to the right, RB Duke Johnson is on the left with TE Jim Dray in the middle and FB Malcolm Johnson on the far right. Hawkins is wide left and Barnidge is to the left of QB Johnny Manziel. If you look at the before-and-after-the-shift photos, you can see that the defense really did nothing to adjust, which tips off Manziel that the safety circled in cyan is going to be the defender responsible for Barnidge in all likelihood.
   

   

   
   Manziel quickly fires the pass out to Barnidge, who scampers down the sideline for a 17-yard gain.
   
   
7. Crowell Punches It In: On the next play, facing a 1st-and-10 from the 11 yard line, RB Isaiah Crowell scored his first rushing touchdown of the season.
   

   

   
   First, let's look at a little pre-snap movement. WR Andrew Hawkins has already come in motion and set up on the right side of the line. After the snap, he briefly fakes like he's going to help block inside before breaking toward the flat on the right. The defensive back sees this and pursues Hawkins, which helps take one defender away from the running gap that's about to form.
   

   

   
   Let's look at it from the Maddeen view now. On the right, you can see Hawkins doing what I just described in the previous screenshot. The defender on the edge appears to be coming free, but FB Malcolm Johnson does a good job faking to his left before coming back to his right to meet the defender. By passing the rusher off to the fullback, RT Mitchell Schwartz is able to break off to the second level and help form the imaginary "green wall" that I've drawn in.
   

   

   
   Crowell puts his foot into the ground and takes advantage of the space on the right. The first 7-8 yards are the gimme yards, but he does a great job lunging toward the end zone after taking on contact (low) from two defenders. He somehow manages to extend the ball over the goal line before his knees touch the ground, giving the Browns a 14-0 lead half-way through the first quarter. It's a role reversal from Week 1 for the Titans and it allows Cleveland's defense to unleash some pressure on to rookie QB Marcus Mariota.|
   
   
8. Defending the Interior Running: The Browns still have issues at defending the run, but at least against the Titans, the issues did not stem from their interior run defense.
   

   

   
   There is nothing particularly special about this example, but I had to pick one interior run play to demonstrate my point vs. some of the outside runs I'll highlight later on. Pulling RG Chance Warmack goes to block ILB Karlos Dansby as NT Danny Shelton draws another double team inside. OLB Armonty Bryant is holding is ground on the edge.
   

   

   
   Warmack tries to block Dansby, but he sheds the block and takes down RB Bishop Sankey after a gain of just two yards.
   
   
9. A New Defensive Look: On the same Titans drive, WR Harry Douglas decided to take a swipe at the head of CB Joe Haden, resulting in a 15-yard penalty. That eventually set up this 3rd-and-15 play from the Titans' 30-yard line.
   

   

   
   Defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil deployed a defensive formation with 2-2-7 personnel or 1-3-7 personnel, depending on how you classify Armonty Bryant. The exact lineup used was DE Desmond Bryant, OLB Armonty Bryant, ILB Karlos Dansby, OLB Paul Kruger, CB K'Waun Williams, CB Tramon Williams, CB Joe Haden, CB Pierre Desir, SS Donte Whitner, S Jordan Poyer, and FS Tashaun Gipson.
   
   This was Desir's first defensive snap all season. He's lined up at the bottom of the screen. To the left of QB Marcus Mariota is K. Williams (yellow), Gipson (green), and T. Williams (cyan). They are all going to come on the blitz, right next to each other, forcing Mariota to roll to his right.
   

   

   
   K. Williams gets picked up by the left tackle and running back on a double team, which allows T. Williams and Gipson to both get free rushes. Mariota immediately runs to his right.
   

   

   
   Mariota tries to dump the ball off as Williams delivers the hit, and he nearly threw the ball to Kruger, who was covering TE Chase Coffman on the sideline.
   

   

   
   Coffman decides to level Kruger out of bounds, drawing another 15 yard penalty and once again allowing Cleveland to win the battle of field position.
   
   
10. A Little Slip on Third Down: With the Browns starting their third drive of the game inside of Titans territory, could they pull off the hat trick with three first quarter touchdown drives?
    

    

    
    Facing a 3rd-and-7 from the 45-yard line, WR Taylor Gabriel is running a curl route on the left. The trips bunch on the right features, from left-to-right, TE Gary Barnidge (flat), WR Andrew Hawkins (across the middle), and WR Brian Hartline (out-and-in). Hartline is going to be the intended receiver.
    

    

    
    Hartline slips coming out of his break, but he's the right receiver to target who is beyond the sticks.
    

    

    
    The throw is on the money, but Hartline either can't haul in the pass or has it knocked away by the defender. Had Hartline not slipped, he might have been able to come back to the ball just a hair more in order to secure the first down. Instead, Cleveland punted for the first time.
    
    
11. Titans Break a Big One: On the first play of the Titans' next possession, starting at the 11-yard line, they ripped off their biggest play of the game.
    

    

    
    On the left side of the screen, OLB Armonty Bryant is going to try to rush wide. A big problem with this is that SS Donte Whitner is going to rush even wider. All if takes is for the tight end to angle Bryant wide, and then since the right tackle doesn't have to worry about Whitner, he takes on ILB Craig Robertson.
    

    

    
    Here is the play developing some more. The wide receiver on the outside is going to cut block CB Joe Haden.
    

    

    
    There is Whitner trailing behind RB Dexter McCluster, who takes it up the sideline for 44 yards.
    
    
12. Going to the Well Again: Just two plays later, the Titans decided to dial up the same rushing play with RB Dexter McCluster.
    

    

    
    As you'll see later on, the Browns were more selective with when they went back to a "bread-and-butter" run play. This time, OLB Armonty Bryant doesn't take as wide of an angle and SS Donte Whitner holds his ground, waiting for McCluster to come to him.
    

    

    
    This time, McCluster only gains four yards.
    
    
13. Ending the Quarter on a High Note: Giving up big plays isn't the worst thing in the world if your defense can make up for it.
    

    

    
    On the Titans' next play, they faced a 3rd-and-3 at the 38-yard line, which was just on the border of field goal range. The Titans call a moving pocket, wanting to get the ball to WR Kendall Wright, who is in the slot.
    

    

    
    Once the play develops, though, CB K'Waun Williams gets around what was designed to be somewhat of a pick, forcing QB Marcus Mariota to abort the play. Since there really aren't any other viable options after the first read goes bad, Mariota doesn't know what to do.
    

    

    
    Mariota tries rolling back to his left, but he loses a shoe and stumbles before taking a pretty vicious hit from DE John Hughes for the sack+fumble, allowing Cleveland to have the ball to begin the second quarter.
    
    
14. Screen to Gabriel Just Off: To begin the second quarter, the Browns tried a quick bubble screen to WR Taylor Gabriel.
    

    

    
    Gabriel is in the slot to the left of QB Johnny Manziel. WR Andrew Hawkins is wide left with TE Gary Barnidge tight left. Hawkins streaks upfield so his man defender can be taken out of the picture. Barnidge is supposed to leak out and chip the defender covering Gabriel, and then Gabriel will cut it back inside as the offensive linemen start getting out to block in front of him.
    

    

    
    The Browns caught the Titans in a defense that would make this play work for a big gain. However, depending on how you want to look at it, the defensive back on Gabriel either made a great individual effort, or Barnidge took a bad angle trying to deliver the chip. If Barnidge had gotten there a hair earlier, Gabriel would've cut inside and had LG Joel Bitonio and C Alex Mack as lead blockers on the two remaining defenders. Instead, the play ends up going for a loss of 3 yards.
    
    
15. Not Many Alternatives: Quite a few people seemed to complain about QB Johnny Manziel going deep on the next play to WR Andrew Hawkins, but he didn't really have many other alternatives.
    

    

    
    Only two receivers are sent into the route -- TE Gary Barnidge, who is running an out route, and WR Andrew Hawkins, who is running the post. In hindsight, this play might have worked better if Barnidge had been running a post too, which might have occupied the safety.
    

    

    
    Instead, the safety goes to double team Hawkins as Manziel launches it deep for the incompletion. I would have liked to have seen TE Rob Housler (on the right) try to improvise here and run to the flat. Manziel also could have tried dumping the ball to RB Isaiah Crowell, but that's probably not wise to throw across the field short when your eyes are already downfield on Hawkins. The Browns punted after a failed third down.
    
    
16. Whitner Trying to Cover the Tight Ends: As I expressed earlier, SS Donte Whitner didn't have the best of days covering the Titans' tight ends.
    

    

    
    Facing a 2nd-and-7 from the 23-yard line, Whitner is lined up on TE Chase Coffman. He bites really hard on the fake to the outside, leaving him trailing big time when Coffman cuts upfield.
    

    

    
    The throw ended up being a bit too high here, but you can see Whitner trailing and how far behind he would've been had the throw been on target in stride. Also, FS Tashaun Gipson is taking an angle going for an interception instead of a play on the receiver.
    

    

    
    On the next play, facing a 3rd-and-7, the Titans ran a simple crossing route with TE Chase Coffman.
    

    

    
    This time, QB Marcus Mariota hits him right between the numbers for a first down with Whitner in coverage.
    

    

    
    Two plays later, the Titans faced a 2nd-and-6 from the 40-yard line. TE Anthony Fasano is lined up tight right to Mariota, with Whitner standing over him in coverage (cyan arrow).
    

    

    
    Whitner instead bites for the underneath receiver, who ILB Karlos Dansby is also covering. In the background (far right), you can see CB Joe Haden spotting the open tight end and racing over.
    

    

    
    Fasano was open for what could have been at least a 20-yard gain, but it's thrown a tad too far in front of him for the incompletion. On the next play, Haden had his "near-Odell Beckham" moment, forcing the Titans to punt.
    
    
17. Biggest Run of the Season: On the first play of the Browns' next offensive drive, RB Duke Johnson logged the biggest run of the season by a running back on the team.
    

    

    
    The Browns pack the line with a double tight end set, and then they bring WR Brian Hartline in motion behind TE Gary Barnidge. Barnidge seals the edge rusher and LT Joe Thomas helps create a wall, pushing a pile toward the middle of the hash marks.
    

    

    
    Hartline cut blocks the defender at the second level, and with the wall created by Thomas, Johnson is quick to get into the hole and then take it back toward the left side of the field.
    

    

    
    No. 21 is the defender who Hartline gave the cut block too. It might not have looked like much, but it was enough to let Johnson spring through the hole untouched. Remember this play and formation for later on, because the Browns are going to go back to it.
    
    Cleveland ran the ball pretty well on this drive and eventually faced the 4th-and-inches decision in field goal range. The arguments to kick the field go (and go up three possessions) or keep the drive rolling both have merit. At the end of the day, the punt return a little later made up for the decision.
    
    
18. Touchdown-Saving Tackle: This can be chalked up as one of the other negative plays for SS Donte Whitner.
    

    

    
    The Titans have plenty of blockers lined up to the right.
    

    

    
    The Titans have a blocker for every defender on that side of the field except for Whitner. This is where we can admit defeat and give up an 8-10 yard run, but Whitner has to make the tackle to prevent any further damage from being done.
    

    

    
    Instead, Whitner misses as RB Dexter McCluster does a spin move. The arrow I show is ILB Craig Robertson, who helps save a bigger run or a touchdown on this play.
    

    

    
    Robertson pursues McCluster and gives him a shoestring tackle from behind after a gain of 17 yards. If Robertson misses, McCluster might have taken this one the distance.
    
    
19. Savvy Sack for Bryant: It was a career day for OLB Armonty Bryant, who logged 2.5 sacks. Here is a look at one of those sacks.
    

    

    
    Bryant lines up wide to the right above. Both tight ends run up the field, but Cleveland has other defenders in coverage. DT Jamie Meder (cyan) will rush toward the outside.
    

    

    
    The right guard doesn't do the best job containing Meder at the snap, and the right tackle initially looks for a rush from Bryant.
    

    

    
    The second that the right tackle decides to help with a chip on Meder, Bryant takes off for QB Marcus Mariota.
    

    

    
    This still shot shows you just how quick Bryant can get around the edge. It's a loss of 7 yards for the Titans and another defensive play that stopped any momentum they were trying to build up in the first half.
    
    
20. The Dagger: After both teams traded punts, there were 1:12 left in the first half.
    

    

    
    Facing a 4th down, the Titans decided to punt the ball in play to WR Travis Benjamin again. Benjamin had already taken a punt wide and a punt up the sideline during the game for pretty good gains. Upon fielding this punt, he shows like he's going to use his speed to sprint wide. The Titans are over-pursuing for the wide return.
    

    

    
    When Benjamin cuts back to the middle of the field, look how open it is!
    

    

    
    The defense eventually catches up a little as Benjamin weaves his way up the field, but Benjamin still has the advantage as long as Cleveland's return team hits a couple more blocks. First, you have WR Marlon Moore doing enough of a block here to spring Benjamin to the outside.
    

    

    
    Then, you have CB Pierre Desir delivering a legal block in front of the punter. The official on the sideline wasn't looking at this point as he raced toward the pylon (he needed to be in position to signal the touchdown). Had there beena  block in the back, the official whose body is chopped off at the top of the screen would've had to make the call. The return touchdown gives the Browns a 21-0 lead.
    
    
21. What The ____? One of the more bizarre plays I saw came with 0:06 left in the first half.
    

    

    
    Facing a 2nd-and-16 at their own 14 yard line, QB Marcus Mariota pitched an end around to WR Harry Douglas for a loss of 6 yards. This is the type of play that gets fumbled often when you pitch the ball to a receiver running horizontally, so I don't get the risk when there is no reward.
    
    
22. Sitting Down in the Zone: The Browns received the ball first to begin the second half and faced a 3rd-and-12 from their own 18-yard line.
    

    

    
    Cleveland spreads the field, but let's pay attention to WR Andrew Hawkins, who is the closest receiver to the right of QB Johnny Manziel. The other receivers streak up the field, but Hawkins runs a stick route right at the first down line. Typically, Hawkins is the type of receiver who breaks left or right at the marker.
    

    

    
    This time, he just turns around between the zone coverage, makes the catch, and gets upfield to ensure he has enough yards for the first down.
    

    

    
    Manziel also did a pretty nice job maneuvering in the pocket, stepping up a little and then shifting to his left without getting outside the hash marks. He delivers a strong sidearm throw to Hawkins, one that makes me think, "enough of those have to have some strain on the elbow." Cleveland can't pick up an additional first down and has to punt.
    
    
23. A Fortunate Heave: Facing a 3rd-and-7 from their own 13-yard line, the Titans got a fortunate play from QB Marcus Mariota to help reverse field position.
    

    

    
    The Browns brought pressure from the left, forcing Mariota to roll to his left. TE Anthony Fasano (you can see his leg at the yellow arrow on the left) is running left. Mariota never looks at him, and even right here, as he's about to get hit, he is delivering a pump fake to the tight end in front of him.
    

    

    
    Immediately after the first fake, he turns his body and heaves a perfect pass across the field to Fasano, which goes for 33 yards before OLB Barkevious Mingo chases him down. It's hard to tell who should have stayed home with Fasano, but I don't think the play was designed for this to happen, given how later Mariota waited to heave it up.
    
    
24. Debating Bowe's Lone Target: There is a lot of disagreement when it comes to the play that WR Dwayne Bowe was targeted on (watch the video of it here on All-22).
    

    

    
    Although I agree that Bowe did not come super fast out of his break, I think it was just a tight window and QB Johnny Manziel threw the ball too far out in front. When a receiver sticks one arm out, I think it creates the perception of laziness or being scared to get hit. I asked Pro Football Focus what they thought of this play, and here is how they responded:
    

    "We downgraded Manziel for this throw.  He threw it in front  of Bowe.  After chatting with a couple of the analysts, we all agree that the placement of the pass was poor. A #1 WR on most teams does make that catch and the fact Farmer is paying $9 mil to Bowe is probably the reason for the uproar.  That and defending Manziel, but Manziel missed on this throw and we did not downgrade Bowe."

    
    
25. Manziel's No. 1 Weakness: Through two games, the biggest weakness for QB Johnny Manziel is that he puts the ball on the ground with the slightest hit from a defender it seems.
    

    

    
    On a 3rd-and-10 mid-way through the third quarter, the Browns run a pretty vanilla play call with the outside receivers streaking up the field and the inside receivers turning around at the sticks. The Titans will have both outside routes double-teamed with zone coverage.
    

    

    
    Manziel wants to throw to the right sideline, but pulls it down when he sees the safety help. When he tucks the ball, a defender pokes it away. Fortunately, RT Mitchell Schwartz recovers, which at least delays how long it takes before the Titans score their first touchdown of the game.
    
    
26. Sticking to the Gameplan: Give credit to the Titans for taking their time and sticking with an evenly-distributed run-pass game despite being down 21 points.
    

    

    
    Running the ball got the Titans down the field, and then facing a 1st-and-10 from the 19 yard line, Cleveland's defense got mixed up covering the Titans' crossing tight ends.
    

    

    
    FS Tashaun Gipson immediately decides to take the inside tight end, Craig Stevens, in man coverage. In green, ILB Karlos Dansby is keeping his eyes on the quarterback, and it looks like CB Tramon Williams (cyan) is watching TE Anthony Fasano (magenta). When Fasano cuts to the middle, the Browns have nobody on him.
    

    

    
    Here is the same moment as the previous screenshot, but from the vantage point of QB Marcus Mariota.
    

    

    
    The throw is a little low, but on target enough for a touchdown before SS Donte Whitner can get over to make a play. The Titans cut into the lead at 21-7 with 1:42 left in the third quarter.
    
    
27. Staying In It: The Browns went three-and-out and punted to begin the 4th quarter. The Titans strung together a 15-play, 77-yard drive that lasted 8:18 to begin the quarter. Amidst that was an interception by S Jordan Poyer that was negated by a legitimate hands-to-the-face penalty on DE Armonty Bryant (although it was irrelevant to the interception).
    

    

    
    The final play of the drive saw the Titans facing a 4th-and-6 from the 13-yard line. At the top of the screen, CB Joe Haden is lined up against WR Dorial Green-Beckham. At 6-6, Green-Beckham has a big height advantage over Haden, but Haden has the experience.
    

    

    
    QB Marcus Mariota is looking left the whole time. As the rush gets to him, he looks to his final read, Green-Beckham, and fires it to the end zone.
    

    

    
    The only thing Haden could've tried to do better here was get in front of the route to begin with, but it's a tough cover when Mariota not only throws it to a 6-6 receiver, but places the ball perfectly to a leaping 6-6 receiver. The Browns' lead was now 21-14 with 6:48 left to go.
    
    
28. Back to the Bread-and-Butter Runs: How did the Browns stop the bleeding? By trying to go back to some of their running plays that worked earlier in the game.
    

    

    
    If you notice the formation above, it's exactly the same as the 20-yard run by RB Duke Johnson earlier in the game, with WR Brian Hartline in motion and behind TE Gary Barnidge. The only difference is that RB Isaiah Crowell is the running back now.
    

    

    
    It's developing the same way.
    

    

    
    It almost looks like a carbon copy, doesn't it? The play goes for 15 yards. A little later, facing a 1st-and-10 from the 46-yard line, the Browns ran the same play that they had the rushing touchdown on earlier. Crowell only got 2 yard this time.
    
    
29. Johnny Football: Facing a 3rd-and-6 from the 50-yard line with 3:01 to play, the Browns drew up a play that was designed to go to the right.
    

    

    
    WR Travis Benjamin was wide right, streaking upfield. WR Andrew Hawkins was in the middle of the three receivers, faking in and then going back out. WR Taylor Gabriel was closest to QB Johnny Manziel, running an out route beyond the first down marker.
    

    

    
    Eventually, Manziel is going to end up spinning to his left as he anticipates the rush. Benjamin sees Manziel rolling out and starts coming across the field to get in his line of sight. The safety does not see Benjamin and instead begins looking for RB Duke Johnson, who was leaking out late after initially being a blocker, falling, and then getting back up.
    

    

    
    Let's go backwards for a second to highlight the spin move that Manziel did as he anticipated the free rusher coming from his blind side.
    

    

    
    I don't think Manziel ever saw Johnson. If he did, it's a shorter throw to an open receiver. Instead, he squares up, plants, and delivers...
    

    

    
    ...a perfect pass to Benjamin for the 50-yard touchdown. Ballgame -- Browns win 28-14.
    
    
30. Special Teams Notes: The Browns had 4 special teams tackles with 2 from CB Johnson Bademosi and 1 each from RB Shaun Draughn and LS Charley Hughlett. P Andy Lee was solid again, averaging 53.2 yards per punt and a net of 42 yards. K Travis Coons had each of his 5 kickoffs go for touchbacks and was 4-of-4 on extra points.
    
    
31. Snap Counts on Offense & Defense: If you missed them, here are the links to our snap count trackers for offense (link) and defense (link). On offense, WR Dwayne Bowe played 8 snaps and was targeted once. On defense, OLB Nate Orchard debuted with 13 snaps.
    
    
32. Brownies: The Browns were 4-of-11 (36%) on 3rd down conversions while the Titans were 7-of-16 (44%) on third downs. ... The Titans out-gained the Browns 385 yards to 274 yards. ... Tennessee won the time of possession battle 35:11 to 24:49. ... Cleveland only had 4 penalties for 40 yards this week, with half of those penalties and yardage going against LG Joel Bitonio. ... The Titans' average starting field position was their own 19 yard line. ... The Browns' average starting field position was their own 33 yard line. ... WR Marlon Moore had one offensive snap, which came on the kneeldown to end the game. ... The announcing crew on CBS was actually very pleasant for me to listen to with some nice insight from S Adam Archuleta.
    

Up next, the Browns take on the Oakland Raiders on Sunday at home. Keep it tuned to Dawgs By Nature for our coverage leading up to the game!