It was a dud of a week for the Tennessee Titans on a couple of fronts. Namely, for getting trounced on Thursday Night Football by the Jacksonville Jaguars and their rookie back-up quarterback. But, also because the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans also won their games…which means the Titans sit in the basement of the AFC South at 1-2.
What’s worse is that the Jags exploited a weakness the Titans had shown in both of their previous games. In doing so, they demonstrated to every other team on the Titans schedule just how you can bury this team.
It all boils down to one simple issue: score early. If you can score early against the Titans, you’re going to be in control of the game. Don’t screw up, and you’re likely going to win it. At least that’s what it looks like through three games.
The Titans have allowed the Cleveland Browns, Colts, and the Jags to score early in each game. Against the Browns, they were able to rebound quickly thanks to the absurd amount of penalties the Browns offense committed and three interceptions from Baker Mayfield. It showed that once this team gets a lead and is allowed to comfortably run their offense, they can be pretty damn good. But in Week 2, the Colts played a much more disciplined game, and were able to close out the Titans after marching down the field and punching it in in the first four minutes of the game.
Maybe the Browns game isn’t any different if the Titans don’t allow that opening drive touchdown, but I damn sure think the Colts game is much different if they keep Eric Ebron out of the end zone.
It looked like the Titans may have corrected this in Jacksonville, as they kept the Jags from scoring on their first drive. But, a costly mistake by Adoree Jackson set the Jags offense up on the seven yard line. They took advantage and went up 7-0 on a James O’Shaughnessy touchdown reception. Next thing you know, Garder Minshew hits D.J. Chark for a 22-yard pass, and the Jags are up 14-0.
From then on, all the Jags had to do was play defense. Don’t get me wrong, sacking Marcus Mariota nine times and pressuring him 18 times was impressive. But, all of that happened because of the hot start.
So, why do these slow starts effect the Titans so badly?
Because it takes away the offense’s ability to do what it does best. The Titans are a completely different team when playing with a lead as opposed to chasing points. They lean on Derrick Henry to wear down defenses. But, the strength of this offense is not the passing game by any stretch of the imagination. By getting an early lead, you’re essentially taking Henry out of the game.
You’re forcing the Titans to throw the football, and there’s little to suggest they can be successful in doing so.
Not only does it take Henry out of the game, but by forcing the Titans to play catch-up, you’re essentially giving yourself more opportunities to capitalize on Mariota’s weaknesses. You know he’s going to hold onto the ball – at this point, that’s who Mariota is. He’s put that on tape for years now. You know that offensive line is struggling. So, you can generate a push up the middle. You’re basically giving yourself a chance to feast on defense.
Then, the more three-and-outs you force the Titans into, the more you’re putting that vaunted Titans defense on the field. In the second half, they’re bound to wear down.
It’s all predicated on getting those points early. If you can get ahead of the Titans, they’ve shown that they simply can’t recover.
The Titans simply aren’t built to chase points. The Atlanta Falcons have the potential to run this team out of Georgia on Sunday. Its that simple. If the Titans don’t get better about this, we’re in for a looooong season.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
Check out the SoBros Shop. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Watch on YouTube.
