The 2-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers came to Nashville today for a date with the 3-4 Tennessee Titans. It was a match-up between two teams trying to find their footing in their respective conferences. It looks like either of these teams can hang with anyone, but inconsistencies have kept them from taking the next step. So, this was an important one for both teams.
TITANS-BUCS RECAP
First Half
Tampa Bay got the ball first and took their fair share of shots early. On one, LeShaun Sims panicked and drew a 43-yard pass interference call that set the Bucs up at the four-yard line. Rashaan Evans tipped a pass, and the Titans defense made a nice goal line stand that forced a field goal.
On offense, the Titans didn’t exactly get off to a hot start. In response to the Bucs field goal, the Titans tried to force the issue with Derrick Henry against the league’s best run defense. Not sure how wise that was. Ryan Tannehill was sacked, and the Titans were forced to punt. Not exactly the start you want.
Thankfully, rookie defensive tackle Isaiah Mack made a play on the ensuing drive, recovering a Jameis Winston fumble. The Titans got the ball back in the red zone, and cashed in on an excellent play. A.J. Brown threw a block that took up two defenders (read: “pick”), and Tannehill threw a perfect ball to Jonnu Smith in the slant for the touchdown. The Titans went up 7-3.
The Titans secondary did well to stall the Bucs – Kevin Byard got in the backfield and tripped up Ronald Jones. Harold Landry cleaned it up for a loss. Then, Kenny Vaccaro had a nice breakup to force the punt.
Starting from their own one-yard line, Henry went for 34, but damn near could’ve broken it for another 99-yard run. That drive stalled, but the Titans were gifted another opportunity off of a Winston interception (his second turnover of the game). Tannehill hit Tajae Sharpe for a beautiful touchdown to put the Titans up 14-3.
Outside of those two touchdown plays, the Titans offense didn’t particularly look that good. The Bucs were able to tack on a couple of field goals to bring it to 14-9 Titans. But, given the turnovers, and the fact that they had players running into each other on offense with a wide open hole for a touchdown right in front of ’em, it’s safe to say that the Bucs are playing themselves today.
On 3rd & 7, with two minutes left in the half, the pocket caved in on Tannehill and Shaq Barrett sacked him into next week (his 10th of the season). Cody Parkey hit a 51-yarder for the Titans to go up 17-9.
In response, Winston literally just threw the ball up into the air with a prayer. Luckily Mike Evans was on the other end and went up over Byard to come down with the ball, setting up 1st and goal. After two nice defensive plays, Winston hit Evans for a touchdown on 3rd and goal, after Evans juked Sims into another dimension. Why the hell Sims is on Evans so frequently in this game is beyond me. The Bucs failed to convert a 2-point attempt, so we go to the half with the Titans leading 17-15. Another gift from the Bucs offense.
Second Half
The Titans got the ball to start the second half. On what would’ve been ANOTHER first down handoff to Henry, the Titans were called for a false start. Then, Tannehill was sacked. He did manage to hit Anthony Firkser to convert a 3rd & 11, but that was made moot by Henry fumbling. Vernon Hargreaves III recovered, capping off a disastrous start to the half for the Titans. The false start, the bland play-calling, the fumble – just an absolute dud of a drive.
On the following drive, Winston hits Evans AGAIN for a huge gain, setting up first down at the Titans 15. It wouldn’t take much for Evans to find the endzone, but at least this time, the Titans had Logan Ryan on Evans. Winston hit Godwin for a two point conversion to go up 23-17.
The Titans continue to fail to get any real momentum going on offense, and quickly punt the ball back to the Bucs. Evans and Godwin continue to present size mismatches against this Titans secondary. Thankfully, the Titans defensive line is playing well at this point – DaQuan Jones stuffed Winston on 3rd & 2 to force a punt.
The only reason the Titans stood a chance on the ensuing drive is because the Bucs were called for two pass interference plays. Tannehill was drilled twice, getting a sense of what Marcus Mariota has felt for the last couple of seasons. Adam Humphries made a stellar contested catch to convert a first down, but otherwise, the offense continued its trend of doing nothing. Carlton Davis, playing well today, batted a ball down intended for Corey Davis in the endzone. Parkey hits another field goal to pull the Titans to within three (23-20 Bucs). The Titans were fortunate to get those three points.
The Bucs weren’t able to do much to follow it – it seems the Titans made some adjustments in an attempt to keep Evans from gashing them. He was wide open short, but was brought down by a gang of tacklers immediately. The Titans defense gave the Bucs some cushion, and Winston broke free on a third down play, but was stuffed short of the first down and the Bucs were forced to punt.
For whatever reason, the Titans offense seemed to wake up and start throwing the ball on the next drive. From a “moving the ball” standpoint, it was as good as they looked all day. Smith continues to be the rare bright spot on offense for the Titans. Sharpe caught another critical pass on this drive, converting a 3rd & 4. Humphries had another big catch that set up the Titans in the red zone. Tannehill capitalized by hitting A.J. Brown for a touchdown, putting the Titans up 27-23. Where has this offense been all day?
Late in the 4th quarter, Winston started to make some things happen with his legs. The Titans did an excellent job holding Evans without a catch, but Winston was converting first downs rushing the ball (he led the team in rushing with 53 yards on the day). Yet again, though, Jurrell Casey made a push on 4th down that kept the Bucs from converting.
A vanilla drive from the Titans (run, run, bootleg into a sack, punt), gave the Bucs one more chance, but Winston threw another interception.
The Titans win, 27-23, but they are extremely fortunate that the Bucs had so many miscues. Where would this team be without its defense?
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
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