Dec 6, 2020; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Cleveland Browns strong safety Karl Joseph (42) celebrates after recovering a fumble during the first half against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
NFLBy Sean Keeley on

The Cleveland Browns will be synonymous with losing and failing to meet expectations until they don’t. And if this weekend’s game against the Tennessee Titans, a match-up of 8-3 squads looking to prove who the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs will most want to avoid in the AFC Playoffs, the Browns are cementing their spot so far. They lead the Titans 38 to 7 at halftime.

After opening up the scoring with a field goal, the Browns had a chance to put some space between them and Tennessee early. On 3rd and 2 with a little over five minutes left in the first quarter, you knew it was gonna be their day when they pulled out a little razzle-dazzle on a double-reverse pass to Baker Mayfield to pick up the first down.

They made good on that by driving all the way down to the red zone and then scoring on a two-yard touchdown strike from Mayfield to Jarvis Landry.

Up 10-0, the Browns kept the momentum going on the ensuing drive by starting the second half with a Big Man Touchdown play to go up 17-0. This was the first touchdown catch by a Browns lineman since 2001.

The Titans calmed things down with a touchdown of their own to make it 17-7, but the Browns pushed right back. Mayfield opened their ensuing drive with a beautiful play-fake pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones who hauled in a 75-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-7.

The Browns then decided to step on the Titans’ neck before halftime and drove down the field once more. Mayfield, really feeling himself now, found Rashard Higgins for an 18-yard touchdown pass to go up 31-7 and put the fear of god into any NFL fanbase who is left on Cleveland’s schedule. Also, this gave Baker four touchdowns on the day so far, the first time a Browns QB had done that in the first half since 1951.

And they weren’t done yet. The Titans sputtered out quickly on their drive and the Browns then drove all the way down the field and made it a 38-7 score thanks to a Nick Chubb touchdown run.

Mayfield finished the first half with 290 passing yards and four touchdowns. Meanwhile, Titans RB Derrick Henry has been limited to just 15 yards on seven carries.

There’s still a full half to play but even if the Browns only play one-third as well as they’ve played in the first half, they’ve got this one in the bag. Browns Fan No. 1 is certainly feeling it.

The Steelers and Chiefs are pretty likely to be the top two seeds in the AFC Playoffs this year, but it’s going to be a real chess match to find out which teams will end up as the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth seeds. The Browns are, so far, staking their claim for that third seed and making both of those top teams think twice about settling for the No. 2 spot when the dust settles. Then again, if they keep this up, who knows how high the Browns can fly…

[Cleveland Browns/NFL]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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