Tony Pollard runs for 161 yards and 2 TDs as Titans outlast Shedeur Sanders and Browns 31-29

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cedric Gray isn’t concerned about Tennessee Titans fans wanting the first overall NFL draft pick for the second straight year.

The second-year linebacker and everyone else in the Titans locker room were focused on getting their second win of the season.

Behind a strong running game along with key plays on defense and special teams, the Titans snapped a seven-game skid as they held off the Cleveland Browns 31-29 on Sunday.

“We hadn’t won since Week 5, so it feels amazing,” said Gray, who had a team-high 10 tackles and a fumble recovery. “I’m not worried about the No. 1 overall pick. We’re ballplayers. We got heart every time we step on the field.”

Tony Pollard rushed for a career-high 161 yards and two touchdowns as Tennessee averaged 5.3 yards per carry. The defense forced a pair of turnovers in the second half and the special teams blocked a punt, with those plays leading to 17 points.

“This is complementary football. Big plays in all three phases,” said interim coach Mike McCoy, who picked up his first win in seven games since he replaced the fired Brian Callahan.

Cam Ward, the top overall pick in April’s NFL draft, completed 14 of 28 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns, his first game with multiple TD tosses. Ward also threw an interception but was sacked only once, the first time this season hadn’t been taken down at least twice.

Cleveland’s Shedeur Sanders passed for 364 yards and three touchdowns in his third start, and he also ran for a score in a matchup of rookies. According to the NFL, Sanders joined Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow as the only rookie QBs with at least 350 passing yards, three touchdown passes and one rushing score in a game.

However, Sanders threw a costly interception in the third quarter that led to Tennessee’s go-ahead TD.

The Titans (2-11) had a 31-17 lead with 6:17 remaining before the Browns scored a pair of touchdowns. Sanders had a 7-yard scramble with 4:27 left and threw a 7-yard TD pass to Harold Fannin Jr. with 1:03 remaining, but the Browns (3-10) missed both of their 2-point conversion attempts.

Cleveland attempted an onside kick, but it was recovered by Tennessee’s Chimere Dike and the Titans ran out the clock.

Pollard, who had 25 carries, had a career-high 65-yard TD run late in the first quarter to give the Titans a 14-3 lead. After Cleveland rallied to take a 17-14 halftime advantage, Pollard put the Titans up for good with a 32-yard carry off left tackle. The third-quarter touchdown came two plays after Titans safety Xavier Woods picked off an ill-timed deep pass by Sanders and returned it 35 yards to the Browns 38.

After Gray recovered Dillon Sampson’s fumble and returned it 19 yards to the Cleveland 8, the Titans extended their lead to 28-17 on Ward’s 5-yard TD pass to Chimere Dike.

Joey Slye’s field goal made it a two-touchdown advantage. That came after James Williams Sr. blocked a punt.

“Some of the things that happened that game, we expect more from our run defense,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “We got to protect the ball. We had a punt blocked, and obviously not getting either the 2-point plays really off is frustrating. So that’s on all of us.”

Sanders completed 23 of 42 passes and was the Browns’ first rookie quarterback since Baker Mayfield to have a 300-yard game. Fellow rookie Fannin finished with eight receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown.

“I would say as time goes on, those decisions and those things, you know, will slim down. And we won’t be in situations where I have that feeling, like, I got to make something happen,” Sanders said.

Quick start

The Titans scored a touchdown on their opening drive for the first time this season when Ward hit Ayomanor on a crossing route for a 14-yard score. Ward was 4 of 4 for 48 yards on the eight-play drive. Tennessee came into the game as the only team without a TD on an opening drive.

“About time, honestly,” Ward said. “We have to continue to be efficient. I have to be efficient, throwing to my guys open, putting it in their radius to make plays.”

Sanders’ big plays

Sanders had a strong second quarter to help the Browns take a 17-14 halftime lead.

He found David Njoku in the left corner of the end zone on third-and-goal at the Titans 1. With 2:47 remaining, Sanders gave the Browns the lead with a 60-yard pass to Jerry Jeudy, the receiver’s second TD this season.

20 and counting

Cleveland’s Myles Garrett became the 14th player to record 20 sacks in a season when he got to Ward in the second quarter. With four games left, he needs three sacks to break the NFL record of 22 1/2 shared by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and Pittsburgh’s TJ Watt.

“I think we really were licking our chops for the pass and they stuck with the run, and we really should have been focused on stopping the run,” Garrett said.

Injuries

Titans: OT Dan Moore suffered a neck injury in the third quarter.

Browns: WR Malachi Corley (concussion) and Njoku (knee) were injured in the second quarter. C Ethan Pocic (Achilles tendon), CB Denzel Ward (calf) and WR Cedric Tillman (concussion) left in the second half.

Up next

Titans: At San Francisco next Sunday.

Browns: At Chicago next Sunday.

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