Music City Miracles
The Tennessee Titans defeated the Cleveland Browns 31-29 in Sunday’s Week 14 game. The now 2-11 Titans are no longer overwhelming favorites to earn the No. 1 overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. We’ve conjured up five observations following Tennessee’s dominant victory.
Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward entered the game having thrown 143 straight passes without an interception. The Fox broadcast crew mentioned it so often that it felt destined to end. Ward’s seventh passing attempt came on 3rd-and-long. The Browns blitzed a linebacker and dropped another in coverage. Under duress, Ward threw a slant pass that the underneath linebacker picked off. It officially went down as 149 passes without an INT, and with his fourth-quarter TD pass to Chimere Dike, he had his first 2-TD passing game of the season.
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett entered Sunday’s contest four sacks away from setting the single-season record. The Titans had a terrific gameplan throughout the first half to neutralize him. On the opening drive, they constantly ran away from him, at him, chipped him, and called quick-developing passing plays. The one longer developing passing play had max protection and resulted in a 14-yard TD from Ward to Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee’s first opening-possessing touchdown of the season. An anxious Garrett was later called for jumping offside, and only had one sack throughout the entire game.
The Titans took a sizable first-half lead on the Browns, and later mounted a comeback after forcing multiple turnovers in the second half. With this win, the Titans lose control of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, with the New York Giants (2-11) taking real-time control. Was this victory worth it?
Veteran center Corey Levin made his second consecutive start with Lloyd Cushenberry sidelined by injury. In the first half, Levin threw a key block on a career-long 65-yard TD run by Tony Pollard, and he did it again for Pollard’s 32-yard TD in the second half. He’s played better than Cushenberry this campaign, who is still recapturing his best form after last year’s season-ending Achilles tear.
The Titans have had to shuffle things in the secondary. Injuries have them playing Marcus Harris and Darrell Baker Jr. at outside cornerback with rookie safety Kevin Winston replacing Harris in the slot. The Browns had two passing plays gain more than 50 yards apiece in the first half alone, including a 60-yard TD from Shedeur Sanders to Jerry Jeudy. A shoestring tackle at the 2-yard line prevented Quinshon Judkins from having his own 60-yard TD. Things got significantly better in the second half, with multiple sacks and turnovers.
