Cleveland Browns vs Tennessee Titans Match Player Stats: Pollard’s Career Day Leads Titans to Victory

Rookie quarterbacks throwing for career numbers usually means a win. Not on December 7, 2025. Shedeur Sanders put up 364 passing yards and four total touchdowns, yet Cleveland still walked away with a loss because two turnovers and a blocked punt handed Tennessee 17 free points.

This cleveland browns vs tennessee titans match player stats breakdown digs into exactly how a team that got outgained by 120 yards still found a way to win.

The Lead

The Tennessee Titans snapped a seven-game losing streak by holding off the Cleveland Browns 31-29 in front of 62,982 fans at Huntington Bank Field on December 7, 2025. Interim coach Mike McCoy picked up his first win since replacing Brian Callahan, and running back Tony Pollard was the biggest reason why, ripping off a career-high 161 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including a 65-yard scoring run on Tennessee’s first offensive snap of the second quarter.

Cleveland actually won the yardage battle in convincing fashion, outgaining the Titans 412-292 and holding the ball for nearly 32 of the game’s 60 minutes. But two Shedeur Sanders turnovers and a blocked punt turned into 17 Tennessee points, and after Cleveland scored twice in the final five minutes, the Browns missed both two-point conversion attempts and lost the onside kick recovery race. That two-point math is ultimately what separated a Browns comeback from a Titans win.

Match Overview Table

Core Match Statistics Overview

The box score tells a strange story: Cleveland dominated nearly every traditional efficiency category and still lost. Here’s the full team comparison from this titans vs browns box score.

Explosive Rushing vs. Explosive Passing

• Tennessee’s ground game averaged a blistering 5.3 yards per carry behind Pollard, who broke off touchdown runs of 65 and 32 yards.
• Cleveland barely ran the ball effectively, managing just 61 yards on the ground even with Sanders adding 29 rushing yards and a score of his own.

Big-Play Passing Attack

• Sanders averaged 8.4 yards per pass attempt and connected on a 60-yard touchdown to Jerry Jeudy, his first score of the season.
• Cam Ward was far more conservative for Tennessee, averaging just 3.9 yards per attempt but still finding the end zone twice.

Turnover Margin Decided the Game

• Cleveland’s two giveaways — an interception and a lost fumble — directly set up 10 Tennessee points in the third quarter alone.
• A blocked punt added a short field for the Titans, compounding the damage from a defense and special teams unit that otherwise played a clean game.

Red Zone and Third-Down Execution

• Cleveland converted both of its two-point conversion attempts into failures in the final five minutes, a detail the box score’s perfect 3/3 red zone mark doesn’t fully capture.
• Both teams were nearly identical on third down (6-for-14 and 6-for-17), showing this game was decided more by explosive plays and turnovers than sustained drives.

Period-by-Period Analysis

First Quarter

• Cam Ward opened the game with an 8-play, 53-yard scoring drive capped by a 14-yard touchdown pass to Elic Ayomanor, Tennessee’s first opening-drive score of the season.
• Cleveland answered with only an Andre Szmyt 38-yard field goal after Devin Bush’s interception return set up good field position but the offense stalled in the red zone.
• Pollard’s 65-yard touchdown run on Tennessee’s very next snap after the field goal put the Titans up 14-3 and flipped the game’s momentum entirely.

Second Quarter

• Sanders led a methodical response, hitting David Njoku for a short touchdown after Quinshon Judkins broke off a 58-yard catch-and-run to set up the score.
• Cleveland’s defense held Tennessee scoreless for the entire quarter, forcing a three-and-out on the Titans’ final possession before halftime.
• Sanders’ 60-yard touchdown strike to Jerry Jeudy with 2:47 left in the half gave the Browns their first lead of the game, 17-14, heading into the break.

Third Quarter

• Sanders’ interception, thrown into coverage intended for Gage Larvadain, was picked off by safety Xavier Woods and returned 35 yards to Cleveland’s 38-yard line.
• Pollard converted the turnover into points two plays later with a 32-yard touchdown run, giving Tennessee a 21-17 edge with under a minute left in the quarter.
• Cleveland’s offense went scoreless for the entire second half of regulation up to this point, a sharp contrast to its 17-point first half.

Fourth Quarter

• A Dylan Sampson fumble, recovered and returned 19 yards by linebacker Cedric Gray, set up a short Cam Ward touchdown pass to Chimere Dike that pushed the lead to 28-17.
• Joey Slye’s 41-yard field goal made it 31-17 before Cleveland mounted a furious rally, scoring on a Sanders scramble and a 7-yard touchdown pass to Harold Fannin Jr.
• Both Cleveland two-point conversion attempts failed, and Tennessee’s Chimere Dike recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal the win.

Tennessee Titans Player Statistics

Cam Ward, QB — 14-of-28 passing, 117 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT Ward posted his first multi-touchdown game as a professional, spreading the ball to Ayomanor and Dike for scores while avoiding costly mistakes outside his one interception.

Tony Pollard, RB — 25 carries, 161 yards, 2 TD Pollard’s career-high rushing day, punctuated by touchdown runs of 65 and 32 yards, was the single biggest factor in Tennessee’s win and the engine behind a 5.3 yards-per-carry average.

Cedric Gray, LB — 10 tackles (7 solo), 1 fumble recovery Gray led all Tennessee defenders in tackles and turned a Dylan Sampson fumble into prime field position that set up a Titans touchdown.

Jeffery Simmons, DT — 1.5 sacks Simmons anchored the interior of Tennessee’s pass rush and consistently disrupted Cleveland’s protection up front, generating the most sack production on either roster.

Cleveland Browns Player Statistics

Shedeur Sanders, QB — 23-of-42 passing, 364 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT; 3 carries, 29 yards, 1 TD Sanders delivered a season-high yardage total and four total touchdowns in his third career start, becoming just the second rookie quarterback in 2025 to reach 350 passing yards, three passing scores, and a rushing touchdown in the same game.

Harold Fannin Jr., TE — 8 receptions, 114 yards, 1 TD Fannin was Cleveland’s most reliable target all afternoon, leading the team in catches and yardage and hauling in the game-tying touchdown attempt in the final two minutes.

Jerry Jeudy, WR — 3 receptions, 76 yards, 1 TD Jeudy’s 60-yard touchdown reception, in which he broke a tackle attempt and outran the Titans secondary, was the single biggest explosive play of the game for either offense.

Myles Garrett, DE — 1 sack Garrett reached 20 sacks on the season with his takedown of Cam Ward, moving within three sacks of the single-season NFL record at the time.

Carson Schwesinger, LB — 13 tackles (6 solo) Schwesinger paced the Browns defense in total stops, staying around the ball on nearly every Titans possession.

Statistical Leaders Summary Table

Why the Titans Won

Explosive Rushing From Tony Pollard

Pollard’s two long touchdown runs turned single plays into 10 points and repeatedly bailed Tennessee out of long-field situations. No other player on either roster came close to matching his per-carry impact.

Turning Cleveland’s Mistakes Into Points

Tennessee’s defense and special teams scored zero points themselves, but they set the offense up for 17 points off two takeaways and a blocked punt — more than half of the Titans’ final total.

Efficient Situational Defense

Despite giving up 412 total yards, Tennessee’s defense stiffened in the moments that mattered most, forcing a three-and-out right before halftime and holding a two-point conversion stop late in the fourth quarter.

Why the Browns Lost

Costly Turnovers at the Worst Time

Sanders’ third-quarter interception and Dylan Sampson’s fourth-quarter fumble combined to hand Tennessee 10 unanswered points during a stretch when Cleveland’s offense had otherwise moved the ball at will.

Failed Two-Point Conversions

Down 31-23 and again down 31-29, Cleveland needed a two-point conversion to tie or force overtime and converted on neither attempt, turning two legitimate touchdown drives into net one-point swings instead of the two points needed.

Historical Context & Advanced Insights

Season Series Breakdown

Because the Titans and Browns sit in different divisions, this was their only regular-season meeting in 2025, making every possession carry extra weight for two teams already eliminated from playoff contention.

Advanced Statistical Insights

Cleveland’s 6.4 yards-per-play average against Tennessee’s 4.6 illustrates how lopsided the underlying efficiency numbers were, yet total yardage and per-play averages did not translate into the scoreboard. The turnover differential (minus-one for Cleveland) combined with a blocked punt effectively erased Cleveland’s per-drive advantage; each Browns giveaway swung field position by roughly 30-40 yards in Tennessee’s favor, which is the functional equivalent of a long completed pass on defense. Sanders’ 8.4 yards per attempt was nearly double Ward’s 3.9, but Ward’s efficiency on scoring drives specifically (2 touchdowns on only 14 completions) shows how a lower-volume passing attack can still be effective when paired with a dominant rushing performance and a favorable turnover margin.

Game Implications & Key Lessons

What This Means for the Titans

• The win snaps a seven-game skid and gives interim coach Mike McCoy his first victory in the role.
• Pollard’s performance reinforces the ground game as Tennessee’s most reliable offensive weapon down the stretch of a lost season.

What This Means for the Browns

• Sanders’ turnover in the third quarter is a reminder that even statistically strong rookie performances can be undone by one or two high-leverage mistakes.
• Cleveland’s inability to convert either two-point attempt in the fourth quarter will likely draw scrutiny toward its short-yardage play calling.

Key Lessons

• Total yardage and time of possession do not guarantee a win when turnovers and special teams breakdowns favor the opponent.
• A single explosive running back can single-handedly change a game’s outcome, regardless of the opposing quarterback’s stat line.
• Two-point conversion execution matters most in the exact moments a team needs it least to fail.
• Interceptions thrown into contested short-to-intermediate routes remain one of the costliest mistakes a quarterback can make.
• Special teams plays, like a blocked punt, often go unnoticed in a box score but can swing 3-7 points on the scoreboard.
• Rookie quarterbacks can put up big passing numbers while still losing if situational football breaks the other way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the Browns vs Titans game on December 7, 2025?

The Tennessee Titans won 31-29 over the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field.

Who had the most passing yards in the game?

Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw for a season-high 364 yards and three touchdowns.

What were Tony Pollard’s stats in the Titans-Browns game?

Pollard rushed 25 times for a career-high 161 yards and two touchdowns.

Did Shedeur Sanders throw an interception?

Yes, Sanders was intercepted once in the third quarter by Titans safety Xavier Woods, a turnover that led directly to a Tennessee touchdown.

Why did the Browns lose despite outgaining the Titans?

Cleveland gained 412 yards to Tennessee’s 292 but lost the turnover battle and had a punt blocked, giving the Titans 17 points off short fields, and Cleveland also failed both fourth-quarter two-point conversion attempts.

How many touchdowns did Shedeur Sanders account for?

Sanders accounted for four total touchdowns — three passing and one rushing.

Conclusion

Cleveland outplayed Tennessee by nearly every yardage measure on December 7, 2025, and still lost by two points. That gap between statistical dominance and the final score came down to situational football: turnovers, a blocked punt, and two failed two-point conversions in the final five minutes.

Pollard’s career day and Tennessee’s opportunistic defense turned Cleveland’s mistakes into exactly enough points, proving once again that in the NFL, how a team wins the possessions that matter most outweighs how many total yards it piles up along the way.