Browns-Titans fallout: the missed false start on Cleveland's winning drive, and a first-place showdown in Pittsburgh next

The Cleveland Browns left Nashville on Sunday with a 27-24 win, a 5-2 record and a share of first place in the AFC North. They also left with a debate that carried into Monday: should the play that set up Andre Szmyt’s walk-off field goal have counted at all?

The missed false start on the Fannin play

With 28 seconds left and the score tied 24-24, Deshaun Watson hit tight end Harold Fannin Jr. over the middle. Fannin turned it into a 36-yard gain that put Szmyt in range for a 32-yarder as time expired.

Critics say the play should never have happened. Right tackle Dawand Jones, filling in for Tytus Howard, appeared to move back into pass protection before the snap. No flag was thrown.

ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio was blunt. Jones “didn’t just leave early,” Florio wrote. “He jumped back, like he’d just seen a rattlesnake.” Florio said a Titans tackle also seemed to move early on a play earlier in the quarter, but that one was much closer to the snap. “Neither was flagged. The Jones play should have been.”

Titans coach Robert Saleh was asked about it after the game. “Live, I think they did, yeah,” he said, according to The Associated Press.

A false start would have stopped the play and moved Cleveland back five yards. Instead, the Browns gained 36 and kicked the winner a few plays later.

Watson’s late-game streak

Controversy aside, Watson keeps winning close games. Sunday was the Browns’ fifth game-winning drive of the season, one for each of their wins, according to ESPN Research figures cited by reporters. ProFootballTalk said the last Browns quarterback with at least five game-winning drives in a season was Bernie Kosar in 1986.

Watson finished 25 of 36 for 308 yards, his first 300-yard passing game with Cleveland, with an interception and a rushing touchdown. The offense had a season-high 491 yards, well above its previous best of 372 in a Week 4 win over Pittsburgh, ProFootballTalk reported.

“We haven’t even reached our peak,” Watson said after the game.

Coach Todd Monken summed it up this way: “That was a fun one. Never looks the same but feels the same.”

Szmyt does it again

It was Szmyt’s second straight walk-off winner and, according to Sports Illustrated, the third time this season he has been the hero. SI, citing ESPN Research, said it was his fifth career game-tying or go-ahead field goal in the final two minutes, the second-most by a Browns kicker this century, behind Phil Dawson’s 10. He did miss a 43-yarder off the right upright earlier in the fourth quarter.

Concepcion’s breakout

Rookie wide receiver KC Concepcion had career highs with eight catches for 129 yards, plus three carries for 23 yards.

“He’s a real dude,” Monken said. Concepcion said he expects games like this every week: “This week it was my breakout game, so I just can’t wait to keep stacking weeks.”

A tough loss for Tennessee

The Titans fell to 1-6 after leading 14-0 in the first quarter. Tony Pollard ran for 129 yards and three touchdowns, and Cam Ward went 20 of 31 for 181 yards with an interception, according to ProFootballTalk.

AP, citing Sportradar, reported that the Titans have now gone 65 straight games without back-to-back wins in the same season, tying the 2014-18 Browns for the longest such run. Punter Tommy Townsend hurt his knee and could not punt in the second half, so kicker Joey Slye took over punting while Townsend stayed on as holder.

Cleveland Browns schedule: what’s next

The Browns and Steelers will meet for the second time this season with first place in the AFC North on the line. Cleveland won the first meeting in Week 4.

FAQ

Earlier coverage: Browns beat Titans 27-24 on Andre Szmyt's walk-off field goal after another late Deshaun Watson drive (Oct 25)