NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans lost to the Cleveland Browns 27-24 on Sunday at Nissan Stadium. It was a debacle, and that is about the only way to put it. The Titans defense, quarterback Cam Ward, and a stalled goal-line sequence all played a part in a loss that drops Tennessee to 1-6.

It was a weird one, even by Titans standards.

Tennessee had this game in hand early

The start was everything this team has lacked all year. Running back Tony Pollard carried five times for 60 yards and a touchdown on the opening possession, giving Tennessee its first opening-drive touchdown of the season. Cornerback Cor’Dale Flott then intercepted quarterback Deshaun Watson on Cleveland’s first drive, and Pollard scored again.

A 14-0 Titans lead is a rare thing, no matter what year it is.

Then the Browns answered. Receiver KC Concepcion, who could not be contained, caught a 23-yard pass, and running back Quinshon Judkins followed with a 30-yard run before punching in the first of his two touchdowns.

The real turning point came late in the first half. Ward hit receiver Carnell Tate on a diving catch to set up a goal-line opportunity, and Pollard appeared to score his third touchdown. Officials overturned it and ruled him down before he crossed. Tennessee then got three more chances from the Cleveland 1-yard line. The Titans called a third-down pass, which makes no sense, and Ward took a sack for a loss. On fourth-and-2, Pollard was stuffed.

No points. Turnover on downs. It was one of the worst sequences you will see.

Linebacker Anthony Hill bailed the offense out on the next Browns possession, stripping tight end Harold Fannin. On the very next play, Ward threw a brutal, backbreaking interception behind receiver Elic Ayomanor that Browns cornerback Denzel Ward picked off. Maybe Ayomanor could have fought harder for it, but it was a bad ball. Concepcion set up Judkins’ second touchdown, the Titans went three-and-out, and Cleveland took a 17-14 halftime lead it never gave back.

Robert Saleh’s defense had its worst day yet

Even with Flott and Hill forcing turnovers, the run defense and tackling were egregious. Cleveland ran for 183 yards and three touchdowns on 29 attempts, an average of 6.3 yards per carry. Judkins finished with 17 carries and two scores, running back Dylan Sampson added 45 yards on six carries, and Watson ran for a touchdown of his own.

Watson never threw a touchdown pass, but he still piled up 308 passing yards thanks to explosive plays and yards after contact. Concepcion caught eight passes for 129 yards. Fannin added six receptions for 91 yards, including the late catch-and-run that set up the game-winning field goal. Officials missed an egregious false start on Dawand Jones on that play, and the defense may have stopped playing because it expected a flag. The Browns might have kicked the winner anyway, but it was inexcusable.

This was as bad a performance as we have seen from a Saleh-coached defense, and it came one week after one of the unit’s best outings in the team’s first win of the season. Robert Saleh was blunt about the breakdowns after the game, as well.

“Just all the way across,” Saleh told reporters when asked about the problems. “Like I said, defensively, (we were) uncharacteristically, especially in the run game. They broke a lot of tackles. It felt like we were a little off in our coverages with regards to ball out break into, get into some of these checkdowns that went for a lot, a lot more yards than they needed to go. … It was just not even remotely good enough.”

Cam Ward didn’t lose this game, but he didn’t win it either

The offense failed to capitalize on those early takeaways, and that is absolutely true. Ward also missed tight end Daniel Bellinger streaking wide open down the middle of the field for what would have been a touchdown. Nobody bothered to cover him, and Ward simply missed the throw.

Ward did make plays late, including throws to Ayomanor and a beautiful ball to Tate that set up Pollard’s third touchdown. Tennessee scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to tie it. However, the Titans left too much time on the clock with Cleveland holding three timeouts.

A quarterback can avoid being the sole reason the Titans lost and still not be good enough to help them win. Right now, Ward is more likely to cost the Titans a game than win one. The team insists it will not make a change at quarterback this season barring injury.

That leaves a 1-6 team staring at a trade deadline roughly two and a half weeks away. Cornerback Alontae Taylor did not play a single defensive snap despite not being a healthy scratch, a stunning development for a player Tennessee just gave $42 million guaranteed. Joshua Williams started at outside corner instead. Edge rusher Jermaine Johnson, who had two sacks against the Colts last week, made a negligible impact Sunday. Pollard, on an expiring deal, just posted a season-best 100-yard, three-touchdown performance.

Every time Tennessee plugs one hole, three more emerge. The bye after Week 8 cannot come soon enough.