Late Comeback Falls Short as Browns Lose to Titans 28-26

BY JEREMY SOMERVILLE

BROWNS BEAT WRITER

(NASHVILLE, TN) - The Cleveland Browns scored 13 points in the final two minutes and ten seconds but it was not enough to overcome three Marcus Mariota touchdown passes as the Tennessee Titans kept the Browns winless with a 28-26 victory in Nashville on Sunday afternoon.

Six games, six losses for the fledgling Browns.

While there were some positives to be found in yet another loss, the game will be marred by head coach Hue Jackson’s decision to go for a two-point conversion with his team trailing 28-19 with just over two minutes remaining. The Browns failed to convert on the play and went into the onside kick attempt needing to score on two possessions, down nine. Whether it was the right call or not will surely be debated for days to come.

What will be overlooked however is that the Browns defense struggled to stop Mariota and the Titans passing game, which has not exactly been a power house in the 2016 season. Or that there were plenty of other reasons why the Browns found themselves down late in the game.

The Browns fell behind early when Mariota found Rishard Matthews for an 11-yard touchdown pass on the Titans opening drive and played catchup the entire day. Two Cody Parkey field goals pulled the Browns within one at 7-6, but Mariota struck again. This time he found a wide open Kendall Wright for a 48-yard touchdown pass that gave the Titans 14-6 lead early in the second quarter.

Behind rookie quarterback Cody Kessler, who ran for his life most of the day but still managed to make plays, the Browns stayed close but never managed to get over the hump. Kessler found Terrelle Pryor Sr for two scores, one in the first half that brought the Browns within one at halftime with a 14-13 score, and the other on a five-yard slant that was the scoring play before the much maligned two-point conversion, that made it 28-19 after the offense failed to do much of anything on their way to 28-13 deficit.

Kessler finished with 336 yards, two touchdowns, and zero turnovers, but didn’t get much help.

For the Titans, Mariota finished 17-24 for 284 with three touchdowns and one pick.

The win moves to Tennessee to 3-3 on the season while the Browns remain winless at 0-6. They’ll look for their first win next week when they travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals.

Dawg Biscuits:

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Safety Jordan Poyer left the game after a blind side hit on a punt return and will remain hospitalized overnight with a lacerated kidney

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Rookie WR Ricardo Louis had multiple drops on plays that Kessler kept alive with his legs, he did not see the field on the final drive and was replaced by fellow rookies Rashard Higgins and Jordan Payton

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Kessler stayed tough despite being hit on most of his drop backs and was sacked six times, including twice on first down in the second half.

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After being near the top of the league in rushing, Isaiah Crowell has been held too under 30 yards in the past two games