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.

"We played well enough to win," Browns coach Mike Pettine said. "We got off to a great start and they battled back. I give them credit. But when we needed to make plays defensively we did."

The Browns went into the game knowing Mariota faced a vanilla defense from Tampa Bay last week and figured the Heisman Trophy winner from Oregon could be confused by disguising coverages. He was sacked seven times and never looked comfortable in the first half. Mariota said he was "good" and plans to play next week after the team said he played through an injured ankle.

Mariota, after posting a perfect 158.3 passer rating against the Buccaneers, had a 62.2 passer rating in the first half while the Browns were building their three-touchdown lead. They sacked Mariota three times in the first half and four more times in the second half. He finished with a 96.3 passer rating but lost two fumbles.

"For the most part we knew where their pressures were coming from," Mariota said. "They did a good job executing their game plan. You have to tip your hat to them. I have to do a better job of having two hands on the football and throwing the ball away so I'm not taking unnecessary sacks."

The Titans got back into the game on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Mariota to tight end Anthony Fasano with 1:36 left in the third quarter to slice Cleveland's lead to 21-7.

The Titans made it 21-14 with 6:42 left on a 13-yard touchdown pass to Dorial Green-Beckham. An interception by safety Jordan Poyer earlier in the drive was erased by a defensive penalty.

Manziel started the game completing his first four passes for 100 yards, beginning with his opening salvo to Benjamin.

The Titans knew Benjamin was fast. He scored two touchdowns against them last year when the Browns rallied from 28-3 to win, 29-28.

"We had a guy right there on the first one," safety Michael Griffin said. "The second one, Johnny Manziel bought himself time. That wasn't the initial route. It reminded me of last year."

Manziel turned the ball over three times in the second half last week -- once on an interception and twice on fumbles. He fumbled twice in the second against Tennessee but was bailed out by teammates both times.

NOTES: QB Josh McCown, the Browns' starter in the opener, was inactive. The last Browns quarterback to start all 16 games was Tim Couch in 2001. ... CB Justin Gilbert, the Browns' top draft pick in 2014, was inactive. He has not played since he 15th game last year. ... Titans starting TE Delanie Walker was inactive with a hand injury. Craig Stevens started in his place. ... RB Terrance West, traded by the Browns to Tennessee on Sept. 6, fumbled on his first carry to set up the Browns' second touchdown.