CLEVELAND – The weather outside was frightful, but on this day, winning seemed so delightful for the Tennessee Titans.
With snow falling and the temperature around freezing, the Titans hitched their sled to running back Tony Pollard, and he helped lead the team to a 31-29 victory.
Pollard ran for 164 yards in the contest, along with a pair of touchdowns.
The win snapped a seven-game losing streak, as the Titans improved to 2-11 on the season.
Quarterback Cam Ward threw for 117 yards and tossed a pair of touchdown passes in the contest, and the Titans made the Browns pay for a pair of turnovers.
But the Titans had to hold on for dear life late.
It was a nice break from the disappointments of previous weeks.
The Titans got off to a fast start, scoring their first opening drive touchdown of the year on Sunday.
Ward connected with receiver Elic Ayomanor on a 14-yard touchdown pass to give the Titans an early 7-0 lead. The score capped an eight-play, 53-yard drive that included third down completions from Ward to running back Tyjae Spears (24 yards) and tight end Chig Okonkwo (nine yards).
The Titans were on the verge of extending their lead, but Ward was intercepted by Browns linebacker Devin Bush at the Cleveland 18-yard line, and after a 44-yard return, the Browns cashed that in for a 38-yard field goal by Andre Szmyt to make it 7-3.
But the Titans answered back with an explosive play – a 65-yard touchdown run by Pollard, which made it 14-3.
At this point, things were looking pretty good.
But things changed quickly.
Barely two minutes later, the Browns cut the lead to 14-10 on a one-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Shedeur Sanders to tight end David Njoku. It came after a 58-yard completion from Sanders to running back Quinshon Judkins.
The Browns then went ahead 17-14 on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to receiver Jerry Jeudy with 2:47 left in the second quarter, and that was the score at the half.
But the Titans turned the momentum late in the third quarter, starting with an interception by safety Xavier Woods.
Two plays later, Pollard busted loose again, this time on a 32-yard touchdown run, to give the Titans a 21-17 lead with 51 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Titans made another play on defense when cornerback Marcus Harris forced a fumble from Browns running back Dylan Sampson, and linebacker Cedric Gray scooped it up and returned it to the Cleveland eight-yard line.
Ward hit receiver Chimere Dike for a six-yard touchdown pass just over a minute later to give the Titans a 28-17 lead with 9:29 left in the game.
Later in the game, linebacker James Williams Sr. blocked a punt – it was the team's first blocked punt since the 2012 season, when Tim Shaw recorded a block.
The Titans cashed that in for a 41-yard field goal by Joey Slye to make it 31-17 with 6:17 remaining.
The Browns cut the lead to 31-23 on a seven-yard touchdown run by Sanders with 4:27 left to make it 31-23, and they got the ball back in the closing minutes.
The Browns got the ball back and scored on a Harold Fannin seven-yard touchdown catch with 1:03 left, but the two-point try failed.
Dike recovered the onside kick, and the Titans celebrated.
The Titans return to action next Sunday at the San Francisco 49ers.
