The Sports Xchange

CLEVELAND – Polarizing Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel found a way to silence his critics, if for only one game.

Travis Benjamin scored three touchdowns, two on passes from Manziel, and the defense kept quarterback Marcus Mariota under wraps in the second half Sunday to lead the Cleveland Browns past the Tennessee Titans, 28-14.

Benjamin, a wide receiver, scored on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Manziel on the Browns’ second offensive play and added a touchdown on a 78-yard punt return with 53 seconds left in the second quarter to give the Browns (1-1) a 21-0 lead halftime lead. Benjamin racked up 214 all-purpose yards in the first half.

In between the Benjamin touchdowns, Isaiah Crowell scored on an 11-yard run.

After the Titans (1-1) rallied with two second-half touchdowns, Manziel rolled left on third-and-6 at midfield to hook up with Benjamin for a 50-yard touchdown pass with 2:52 remaining.

“Every time Johnny scrambles, he’s looking to throw first,” Benjamin said. “Once I put my hand up and he saw me, I saw him cock and I just ran under it.”

The Browns (1-1) looked like a different team than the one that lost, 31-10, to the New York Jets in the season opener. The same can be said of the Titans, who dominated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (42-14) in Mariota’s NFL debut.

What we learned about the Browns

1. The Browns are resilient if one game is an indication of how they will respond to adversity. They did not sack Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick once last week, but they got to Marcus Mariota seven times by attacking him from different areas, six different players shared the seven sacks.

2. The Browns won, but Johnny Manziel still has to do a better job protecting the football if he is to remain the starting quarterback. He fumbled twice against the Titans but was fortunate because right tackle Mitchell Schwartz recovered one and running back Duke Johnson recovered the other. He turned the ball over three times last week.

3. The Browns had a battle in training camp between two unproven kickers – Carey Spear and Travis Coons. Neither missed a kick in preseason, but the Browns decided to keep Coons. So far, so good. He kicked a field goal and a 48-yard extra point in the opener. He kicked four extra points against the Titans and all five kickoffs resulted in touchbacks.

Etc.

–QB Johnny Manziel completed only eight passes, but he made the most of them recording his first victory as an NFL quarterback. He fired touchdown passes of 60 and 50 yards and did not turn the ball over on his way to 172 yards passing and a 133.9 passer rating.

–P Andy Lee punted six times for a 53.2-yard average. He had a long punt of 62 yards. He was unhappy with himself on the 62-yarder because the result was a touchback, but the four-time Pro Bowl player acquired from the 49ers for a seventh-round draft pick has been an excellent addition to the Browns.

–DE Armonty Bryant missed most of last season with a knee injury. He is back 100 percent. He had 2.5 sacks of Marcus Mariota for 12.5 yards and three quarterback hits in all. Bryant, in his third year, had three quarterback sacks in his first two seasons.