Cleveland- On a wet cool blustery afternoon at Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Tennessee Titans did little to warm the spirits of Cleveland Browns fans by easily rolling to a 31-13 victory and a third straight win. Tennessee quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw three touchdown passes, and the defense added a touchdown of their own to help the Titans improve to 3-1.
The outcome was rarely ever in doubt as the Titans built a 21-6 halftime lead behind the arm of Hasselbeck, who threw for 194 yards and all three of his touchdowns in the first half. Hasselbeck finished the game with 220 yards passing.
It looked good for the Browns (2-2) early as they struck first on their second drive of the game. Kicker Phil Dawson booted a 48-yard field goal with just under seven minutes left in the first quarter. The 3-0 lead would prove to be the last time the Browns would hold the lead.
On Tennessee's ensuing drive Hasselbeck found Craig Stevens in the end-zone for a 12-yard touchdown reception to give the Titans the lead 7-3.
Dawson kicked a 51-yard field goal on Cleveland's next drive to close the gap to 7-6, but it would be the last time they would score again until the fourth quarter. By then, the Titans held a comfortable lead and the game was all but out of reach for the Browns.
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| Jordan Babineaux returns a Colt McCoy interception for a Titans' score |
After scoring points on two of their first three drives the Browns failed to score on their next six drives. The Titans took advantage of the Browns lack of offense to open up a 24-6 lead and seal Cleveland's fate.
Hasselbeck tossed an impressive second quarter 80-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jared Cook who took the pass and skirted up the left sideline running past defenders on his way to the end zone and a 14-6 lead for the Titans.
Hasselbeck then followed it up with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Damian Williams with 33 seconds left in the first half to open up a 21-6 lead for the Titans.
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| Damian Williams' 4-yard touchdown reception over Cleveland cornerback Sheldon Brown |
After a 39-yard field goal by Titan's kicker Rod Bironas extended the Titans lead to 24-6, Cleveland quarterback Colt McCoy was intercepted by Titans safety Jordan Babineaux. Babineaux returned it 97 yards for a touchdown to give the Titans a 31-13 lead late in the third quarter.
McCoy set a Brown's record by completing 40 of his 61 pass attempts. The previous mark of 36 completions was set by Tim Couch against Tennessee in 2002. McCoy ended the day with 350 yards and one touchdown and that one costly interception.
The bigger story was Tennessee's defense and the inability of Cleveland's running game to ever get on track as running backs Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty combined for only 68 yards on 17 rushing attempts. This forced McCoy to throw often, and played into the hands of the aggressive Tennessee defense which sacked McCoy four times.
After the season-ending injury of star Tennessee wide receiver Kenny Britt last week, there had to be some concern by the Titans about who would step up to replace Britt's production. Hasselbeck threw to a variety of receivers and running back Chris Johnson had 101 yards rushing to help subdue the Browns.
McCoy's only touchdown pass of the game was a 10-yard pass to tight end Benjamin Watson with 5:52 left to go in the game.
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