Browns defense dominates in victory over Titans

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns dominated on defense in a 27-3 win over the Tennessee Titans Sunday afternoon at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland.

>>RELATED: Browns RB Nick Chubb officially out for season, will need surgery, head coach confirms

Myles Garrett had five, 3.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. His 3.5 sacks are tied for the third most by a Brown in a single game.

The Browns held the Titans to 94 yards of total offense.

Deshaun Watson threw two touchdown passes while Amari Cooper had 116 receiving yards. Running back Jerome Ford made his first career start and had two touchdowns (one receiving and one rushing) in place of the injured Nick Chubb.

The Browns improved to 2-1 on the season and are in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC North with Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

>>RELATED: Steelers beat Browns on 2 defensive touchdowns; Nick Chubb suffers ‘significant’ knee injury

The Browns and Titans exchanged field goals to tie the game at 3-3. Cleveland avoided disaster when Watson was sacked and fumbled. Elijah Moore recovered for a 16-yard loss.

On the next play, Watson went deep to Cooper and drew a pass interference penalty. Four plays later, Watson found Ford for a 19-yard touchdown to put the Browns ahead, 10-3.

Dustin Hopkins’ 52-yard field goal with 1:00 left until halftime extended the lead to 13-3. Tennessee had a chance to score from the Browns’ 11-yard line before halftime with 13 seconds left, but Garrett sacked Ryan Tannehill on third and the Titans had no timeouts and could not get their field goal unit onto the field before the clock ran out.

>>RELATED: Browns RB Nick Chubb out for season with ‘significant’ knee injury

Cleveland began to distance themselves from the Titans in the third quarter when they went on an 11-play, 85-yard scoring and took over five-and-half minutes off the clock. Ford capped it off with his second touchdown of the day, a five-yard run, and the Browns led, 20-3, after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, Watson found Cooper for a 43-yard touchdown reception to cap the scoring.

Watson completed 27 of 33 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. Cooper caught seven passes for 116 yards and a score.

The Browns will be back in action on Sunday, October 1, when they host the Baltimore Ravens.

The game will be televised here on Channel 7 and broadcast on 1290 and 95-7, WHIO.

©2023 Cox Media Group