Defense Devolves in Disastrous First Half

Cleveland racked up 38 points and more than 300 yards of total offense in the first two quarters Sunday.

The Tennessee Titans had just turned in two of their most impressive defensive showings of the season in road victories over the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts.

But in humbling fashion, things came crashing down to earth on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. The issues that have held the unit back all season reared their ugly heads once again.

In a 41-35 loss at Nissan Stadium, the game was all but over by halftime. In the first 30 minutes, the Browns amassed 344 yards of offense, picked up 22 first downs, converted seven times on third down in eight attempts and marched up and down the field for 38 points -- the most points allowed by a Titans defense in the first half of a game in more than 11 seasons.

Everything that could have gone wrong, did.

“Bad communication, bad execution,” safety Kevin Byard said. “You go out there and play like that, you get your behind whipped. Credit to Cleveland, they were more prepared and coached better and played better. That's my answer.”

The Browns entered the contest with the No. 1 rushing offense, headlined by two of the league’s top running backs in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, who both rank inside the top 10 in rushing yards.

But Cleveland only gained 48 yards on the ground in the first half. It was third-year quarterback Baker Mayfield who stole the show, lighting up a Titans pass defense that has struggled all season.

Prior to halftime, Mayfield completed 20 of his 25 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns. He reached intermission with a 154.6 passer rating.

“I mean, we knew coming into the game, they were going to try to establish the run, going to run play-action boot, take some shots and do different stuff, and we just didn't play well, honestly,” Byard said. “Like I said, I don't think they did anything different than what we thought. We just didn't play well (Sunday).”

Mayfield became the first Browns quarterback since Otto Graham in 1951 to throw four touchdown passes in the first half.

He hit Jarvis Landry on a two-yard pass in the back of the end zone nine plays and 59 yards after the Titans failed to convert on a fourth-and-one in Cleveland territory. To start the second quarter, he found offensive lineman Kendall Lamm for a 1-yard touchdown on a trick play that made it 17-0. The Titans answered with a touchdown on the ensuing possession, but Mayfield quickly responded with a 75-yard touchdown to Donovan People-Jones, who beat Titans cornerback Breon Borders, on the first play of the next possession. His fourth touchdown, a 17-yard pass to Rashard Higgins, made it 31-7.

Chubb cashed in for a one-yard rushing touchdown with under a minute to go in the second quarter to put the game out of reach, 38-7.

The last time the Titans gave up that many points in the first half of a game was in October 2009, when the New England Patriots scored 45 en route to a 59-0 victory.

Mayfield accomplished all of it with a clean pocket. The Titans did not sack him once and were credited with one quarterback hit.

“Up front, the protection was great, and our guys were getting open and making those plays. It is a combination,” Mayfield said. “Expect to come in and make some of these plays, and our guys are getting open. We base our gameplan and our style of play off the run game, but we are going to do whatever it takes to win week in and week out. In the first half, that was spreading them out and doing some things to take care of some empty space.”

The Titans have the NFL’s worst third-down defense, and it did not improve Sunday. The Browns converted 10 of their 16 third down attempts, including seven of eight in the first half. The Titans have given up 90 third-down conversions this season.

The Titans have not allowed that many in an entire season since 2015. At the current pace, they will give allow 120 third-down conversions, which would be the most in the Titans era (1999-present).

“We have to look at who we have and we’ve got to try to put them in the best positions to do that, whether that's playing man or zone or simulating, pressuring, all those different things that go into it,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “That's the challenge. That's going to stay the same each and every week.”

The same Tennessee defense held All-Pro quarterback Lamar Jackson in check in a 30-24 overtime victory two weeks ago. It forced five punts, intercepted one pass and held the Colts to 5-13 on third downs in a victory last week.

With four games to go, the Titans (8-4) are searching for some level of consistency yet again.

“Like I said, we didn't play well (Sunday),” Byard said. “Very uncharacteristic of us as an entire team. We have to look ourselves in the mirror tonight, tomorrow, and Tuesday, and come back on Wednesday fired up and ready to go for the next week.”