Shedeur Sanders has an impressive first half as Browns lead Titans – Terry Pluto’s Halftime Scribbles

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Scribbles in my notebook as the Browns lead the Titans, 17-14, at halftime:

1. Shedeur Sanders had a strong first half with a pair of TD passes. The rookie showed excellent accuracy as he was 9 for 14 passing for 180 yards. It’s a cold day with snow flurries, but Sanders looked poised and not bothered by the weather.

2. When Sanders is at his best, he throws a soft, catchable pass right into the hands of his receivers. He did that several times in the first half. This was the best first half of any Browns QB this season.

3. Myles Garrett recorded his 20th sack of the season. The NFL record is 22½.

4. Special teams … SPECIAL TEAMS! Tennessee’s Chimere Dike returned the opening kickoff 41 yards. Dike is the NFL’s top return man. The Browns had their usual problems with coverage.

5. Dike’s return set up an 8-play, 53-yard TD drive for the Titans. Rookie Cam Ward connected with Elic Ayomanor for a 14-yard TD. Ayomanor ran a simple slant pattern across the middle of the field. Denzel Ward was in coverage. He was playing too far behind Ayomanor, who caught the ball and sprinted into the end zone. Denzel Ward took a very poor angle on the coverage.

6. Special teams … After scoring the TD, Tennessee kicked off. Cleveland’s Jerome Ford caught the kick and ran sideways. He gained only 15 yards on the return.

7. When the Browns were forced to punt, they were flagged for a false start when Mohamoud Diabate jumped off-sides.

8. The Browns picked off a Cam Ward pass. Devin Bush returned it 44 yards. That set up a 38-yard field goal by Andre Szmyt. The rookie is now 17 of 20 in field goal attempts. Think back to the opener when he missed an extra point and field goal in a 16-14 loss to the Bengals. He was close to losing his job. Now, he is a reliable kicker.

9. The Browns’ second TD was set up by a 58-yard screen pass from Sanders to Quinshon Judkins. The rookie running back did a tremendous job finding an opening and bolting down field.

10. The Browns’ first TD came on a superb, soft 1-yard pass from Sanders to David Njoku near the corner of the end zone.

11. Tennessee scored a TD on a 65-yard run by Tony Pollard. The veteran running back found a hole in the Cleveland line and just ran past everyone. This has not been a banner day for the Cleveland defense.

12. On a positive note: A great job on the National Anthem by former Cleveland.com sports social media producer Hayden Grove. That’s the same Hayden Grove who appeared on “The Voice” TV show.

13. Why do that? That’s what I wondered after the Browns punted from the Titans’ 47-yard line. It was fourth-and-7. On the punt, Tennessee was flagged for offsides. If the Browns had accepted the penalty, it would have been fourth-and-2 on the Titans’ 42-yard line. They could have tried for the first down at that point. Instead, they declined the penalty, giving the ball to Tennessee at its own 15-yard line.

14. Sanders connected on his second TD pass of the game, connecting with Jerry Jeudy for 60 yards. A wonderful on-target throw by Sanders.