Mariota holds up under pressure, Titans work on protection

Travis Benjamin scored three touchdowns, two on passes from Manziel, and the defense kept quarterback Marcus Mariota under wraps in the second half Sunday to lead the Cleveland Browns past the Tennessee Titans, 28-14. Mariota finished 21 of 37 for 257 yards with two touchdowns. Mariota has deficiencies that need to be fixed, such as accuracy on longer throws, pocket presence and ball security under pressure.

BEREA, Ohio- The Cleveland Browns do not know who will start Sunday’s game at FirstEnergy Stadium against the Oakland Raiders.

“We are going to put it all on the table and talk about it. We will see where it takes us”, Pettine said. “To me, thats standard. That’s our weekly meeting where we evaluate every position and where are we.

Once the game was in the bag, giving Manziel his first win as an National Football League starter, his agent, Erik Burkhardt, chose to taunt Hoge by sending him a kissy face emoji.

“We’ve got to play more consistent”, he said. Manziel fumbled twice against the Titans and the Browns recovered both times.

The Titans made it 21-14 with 6:42 left on a 13-yard touchdown pass to Dorial Green-Beckham. So, of course, I’m ready to go play.

We saw them hook up on a 54-yard bomb during Week 1 when Manziel came off the bench.

Bryant has seen an increase in playing time since starter Scott Solomon injured his ankle on the season’s first series.

“He believes he can extend the play and make the play, ” Whisenhunt said.

Head coach Mike Pettine says the Browns will know in the next couple days whether Josh McCown can start practicing, but then what happens?

Benoit counters the usual arguments referencing the smaller quarterbacks such as Drew Brees and Russell Wilson by saying Manziel “plays low to the ground.instead of up on his toes” like the Saints QB and calls Wilson an “anomaly” who possesses skills that Johnny “at least going off the early samplings of his young career, does not”.

On his first pass, Manziel faked a hand-off, dropped back and hit a streaking Benjamin, who got behind cornerback Coty Sensabaugh. The offensive line was atrocious and the receivers left a lot to be desired.

The Tennessee Titans had pared a 21-0 lead to a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and the Browns were facing third-and-6 from midfield. Neither back caught a pass. A look around the division should make it clear to Pettine that the Browns, despite the great win, are not winning the AFC North. The other three teams all made the playoffs last season, two of them (Ravens and Steelers) have Super Bowl winning quarterbacks and two of them have elite wide receivers (Bengals and Steelers). He was sacked seven times and never looked comfortable in the first half.

-COACHING: C – The Titans came out slow and sluggish and were just not as crisp as they were in the opener.

The Titans averaged 5.5 yards per carry and Dexter McCluster led the way with 10 rushes for 98 yards, including a 44-yarder.

NOTES: G Chance Warmack left on crutches and was wearing a brace after spraining his right medial collateral ligament in the first half.