The Browns needed a number of things to happen in order to beat the Tennessee Titans today at FirstEnergy Stadium , and, as evidenced by their 28-14 victory in the home opener, they got them.
The Browns needed a good individual performance from quarterback Johnny Manziel and, more importantly, also a winning performance since winning is all that quarterbacks are judged by. And they got it.
Manziel was nothing short of brilliant, staying within himself when he needed to do so, and answering the call to make a big play when such was necessary. He threw two long touchdown passes, one to get the offense jump-started and the other, after he deftly avoided the blitz and scrambled out of the pocket to buy himself time, to clinch the victory. The Titans had climbed back into the game to trail only 21-14, and Manziel’s TD pass delivered the knockout punch.
Did Manziel outplay Titans rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota, he of the NFL record-tying four touchdown passes in his pro debut last Sunday? Is the Dawg Pound raucous?
Should Manziel start again next Sunday against the Oakland Raiders at home, even if Josh McCown is cleared to play? Is the Muni Lot festive on game days?
The Browns needed someone – or, if necessary, several someones – to step up and help Manziel, a second-year pro who was making only his second career start. As it turned out, they needed just one someone, Travis Benjamin, to get the job done.
Benjamin was prolific, a real game-changer. The Titans – and their outstanding defensive mind, Dick LeBeau, the assistant to the head coach in charge of the defense – had no answer for him.
Neither did the Tennessee special teams have an answer for Benjamin, whose third TD on the day came on a long punt return right before halftime to give the Browns a surging wave of momentum heading into the locker room.
Benjamin was the big-time, can-score-from-anywhere-on-the-field playmaker the Browns have so desperately needed for so long. His value to the Browns in this game can’t be overestimated.
The Browns needed their defense, which really struggled in the season-opening 31-10 loss to the New York Jets last Sunday, to play up to its potential and impose its will on Mariota. It happened – and then some. If the defense wasn’t sacking Mariota, then it was in his face, or chasing him, or forcing him to fumble, or forcing him to throw the ball away.
The Browns, as a whole, needed to come in with fire in their eyes and punch the Titans in the mouth right away to get the visitors on their heels and get the sellout crowd into the game. That happened, too. The Browns roared out to a 14-0 lead in a veritable blink of an eye, forcing the Titans to play from behind all day while the fans cheered on.
And, most of all, the Browns just needed to win, however it came, particularly after that embarrassment against the Jets. Winning is everything, especially for a team that hasn’t done much of it since it returned to the field in 1999. So today was an everything kind of day.
As they go forward, the Browns need all of this – and even more of it if they can get it. And they need it not just for one game or two or three or four, but for every game.
Certainly, what happened today was a step in the right direction. Now the Browns just need to keep walking.
By Steve King
