NASHVILLE -- Defensive end Paul Kruger couldn’t remember which Cleveland Browns player was the first to tackle Tennessee Titans quarterback Charlie Whitehurst on the 4th-and-inches stop that decided the game.
Kruger came off the edge. Defensive tackle Jabaal Sheard and safety Donte Whitner were pushing through the middle of the Titans front. Karlos Dansby came over the top. They all got a piece.
The race to the ball didn’t matter as much as the Browns making Tennessee pay for not punting the ball. They had to do something to atone for a brutal defensive effort in the first half.
“Especially in a close game like that, that’s a big call for them to feel confident about,” said Kruger after Cleveland’s 29-28 victory fueled by the fourth-down stop with 3:09 left. “Just one of those plays where you have to go full speed, get some knock-back.”
The stop was emblematic of the Browns’ second half, shrugging off a 28-point spot by halftime to hold Tennessee to six first downs and 126 yards. Tennessee had converted five of its first six third-and-longs to start the game. The Browns’ sluggish tackling and panicked penalties made one of the NFL’s worst offenses look bearable.
But the Titans went rhythm-less late, and when Tennessee didn’t pick up a first down on a 6-yard out to tight end Delanie Walker (the Browns challenged the first-down call and officials reversed it), the Titans lined up quickly to try to draw Cleveland offsides.
When that didn’t work, the play was over quickly. Whitehurst went over the top and after a few seconds stretched for the first down, but officials already had blown the ball dead, Dansby said.
Tennessee challenged the spot anyway.
“They wasted their timeout,” Dansby said. “Appreciate it. Thank you. Helped us out.”
Most quarterbacks can knife through a defense for inches, but Whitehurst went high and gave the Browns a clean shot.
Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt gambled with the fourth-down call instead of punting and forcing the Browns offense to drive the length of the field.
Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer sees it a different way.
“Maybe that shows they were afraid for us to go back on the field,” Hoyer said. “They wanted to see if they could finish it right there. ... That’s the risk you’re willing to take if you feel like you can’t stop an offense.”
Dansby is glad they went for it.
“You have to earn your respect around here,” he said. “They ain’t going to give you nothing. They went for it. We just earned our respect.”
