Browns vs. Titans: Twitter Reaction and Postgame Quotes

For a little more than three quarters of football in Tennessee, it looked like the same old Cleveland Browns. Then, in the blink of an eye, nothing was the same. The Browns made history on Sunday defeating the Tennessee Titans and may have just propelled themselves into NFL relevance.

"

. @Browns' 25-point comeback today is largest in @NFL history by a road team

— Jon Zimmer (@NFLhistory) October 5, 2014"

It was hard to fathom that by the end of the game Browns fans would be rejoicing. With 2:44 to play in the first half and the Browns trailing 28-3, including being outscored 21-3 in the second quarter alone, things did not look good.

The Browns’ offense was imploding, the special teams was once again far less than special and Titans backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst threw just his fourth career touchdown pass to give the Titans a monster lead. Twitter was calling for head coach Mike Pettine’s job, the media wanted to know what the Browns had been doing for two weeks and that five-game stretch that seemed so easy Sunday morning was a distant memory.

"

I really thought the Browns were we-positioned for a nice run through October. Charlie Whitehurst just threw for a TD on them.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 5, 2014"

This Browns team has two things that past teams did not have, however. They have a head coach who remains calm and actually makes halftime adjustments and a quarterback who never believes the team is out of the game. Brian Hoyer marched his offense 90 yards to put a touchdown on the board and cut the lead to 18 points before halftime.

Now, 18 points would normally seem insurmountable, but the Browns were playing the Titans with a backup quarterback. This is the same Titans team who has a bottom four offense in the NFL and a bottom five defense in the league as well.

It seemed unlikely, but for once, Browns fans would not be the ones crying themselves to sleep after the game.

"

“@dcj98: @bustedcoverage her jersey. pic.twitter.com/qDwJGruIk8” @lana Here you go

— Busted Coverage (@bustedcoverage) October 5, 2014"

The second half was all Browns. They had 278 total yards of offense, held the Titans to zero points and Hoyer went 12-of-23 for 194 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He also led a game-winning drive with 3:03 to play that culminated in a six-yard touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin.

Hoyer now has three game-winning drives in his seven starts for the Browns and is undoubtedly the leader of a team that has the league taking notice.

"

"I knew we had it in us...it was a complete total team win" - Brian Hoyer

— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) October 5, 2014"

Despite the fact that Hoyer had done this in the past, it seemed very unlikely to happen on Sunday. Everything was going wrong in key situations. The Browns twice went for it on fourth down instead of kicking field goals and failed to convert. Hoyer also missed a wide-open touchdown pass to Andrew Hawkins early in the fourth quarter, which would have made it a one-score game.

Luckily, inexcusable penalties by the Titans and a blocked punt that resulted in a safety set up Hoyer for one more shot at the victory, and he cashed it in this time.

"

Holy Hoyer!!

— trey wingo (@wingoz) October 5, 2014"

"

Looks like I'm going to have to repeat this every week, Brian Hoyer's pricetag keeps soaring. 3 TDs today, bailing out the defense

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) October 5, 2014"

"

Another #Browns comeback for Brian Hoyer. Just so chill in crunch time.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 5, 2014"

So the Browns are now 2-2 and grabbed a victory to start the easiest part of their schedule. Over the next four games the Browns will face the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders at home. They also play the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road. Those teams have a combined record of 4-15.

That stretch of football, paired with the Browns relentless style of play, have people around the country taking notice of what is happening in Cleveland.

"

Browns fans: you have to realize, this is not your same Factory of Sadness Browns. They have talent, good coaching, good future.

— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) October 5, 2014"

So the Browns can celebrate this victory for three days. On Wednesday, they will get back to work and prepare for the Pittsburgh Steelers in a pivotal division game. This is strange territory for a team who had lost seven straight road games and consistently fell to teams with less talent over the past 15 seasons.

When something this rare happens, you cannot judge the way a team celebrates—even if that celebration is filled with awkward dancing and goofy smiles.

"

Man! #2014 #CadiacKids #WeTooLive http://t.co/AImUEQjX8K

— Phil Taylor (@PhilTaylor98) October 5, 2014"

The players were not the only ones celebrating, however. We must remember this was the homecoming game for owner Jimmy Haslam. He is from Tennessee, a huge University of Tennessee supporter, his brother is governor of Tennessee, his company Pilot-Flying J is based in Tennessee and even his new scoreboards in FirstEnergy Stadium are shaped like the state of Tennessee.

This victory had to taste better than homemade sweet tea to the billionaire from the south. Even Pettine knew that this one would probably have a special place in Haslam’s heart.

"

#Browns Pettine on win for owner Jimmy Haslam, who's from Tennessee: Know it's important for him. Way we did it, think it's special.

— Scott Petrak ct (@ScottPetrak) October 5, 2014"

So it may have been ugly, and it may have been against a bad team playing a backup quarterback. But that team was still in the NFL, that quarterback was still on an NFL roster and that game was still on the road.

A win is a win when it comes to road victories. You do not get any bonus points for style.