Things couldn’t have gone any better for the Tennessee Titans at home inside the friendly confines of Nissan Stadium. The Jacksonville Jaguars came to Nashville to unequivocally get their buttholes wallered out to the tune of 42-20.
I mean, it started off as a competitive struggle as both teams were committed to their running games. The Jags trying to get Leonard Fournette going, and the Titans trying to get Derrick Henry going. Though both would score two touchdowns, Henry won that match-up, rushing for 159 yards to Fournette’s 97 (most of which came in garbage time). For the Jags, things just fell apart in the third quarter when the Titans offense really took over.
It was about as complete a game as the Titans could have hoped for.
At quarterback, Ryan Tannehill continues to be a revelation. He went 14/18 for 259 yards, and two touchdowns, good for a 155.8 passer rating. But, he also had 40 rushing yards and two gutsy rushing touchdowns, bringing his total touchdown count to four on the day.
Ryan Tannehill is the first #Titans QB to have a game with multiple passing TDs and multiple rushing TDs since Steve McNair in 2001 https://t.co/XFwakMQytl pic.twitter.com/hXJ3hERPLg
— ProFootballReference (@pfref) November 24, 2019
It sure looks like this offense was tailor made for Tannehill – he’s been nothing short of a spark since taking over at quarterback. The Titans are now 4-1 with him at the helm, scoring 29.4 points per game. It’s like night and day compared to that team that got shut out against the Denver Broncos.
It was another big day for Henry, too – 159 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. But, he should’ve had a touchdown pass, too. On a bit of trickeration, he threw an absolutely dime to Jonnu Smith, but defensive pass interference negated the touchdown and set the Titans up on the one yard line. They threw it to Dennis Kelly. That’s not a typo. Arthur Smith had what was probably his best day yet as offensive coordinator, as that offense looked diverse and creative.
But, that’s not all on offense. The offensive line played well, giving up just one sack after giving up nine the first time the Titans and Jags played. But, most importantly, we’re not talking about an egregious Taylor Lewan penalty hurting the team this week. As a unit, these guys stepped up big time. So did Titans wide receivers – A.J. Brown had four catches for 135 yards and a touchdown, showing why so many of us think he has true NFL #1 potential. Corey Davis only had two catches for 29 yards, but his blocking was absolutely superb, even throwing a key block on a big Tannehill run. Eight different Titans caught a pass today.
On defense, Adoreé Jackson played well. Jayon Brown made some plays, and it was great having him back in the game. Harold Landry had his 8th sack of the season, and has now registered a sack in four straight games. The Jags tried to pick on LeShaun Sims, but all things considered, Sims played serviceably. The dude is a luxury to have in the 4th cornerback slot. He’d probably be starting on many other NFL teams.
And, how about Brett Kern on special teams? How many times were the Jags pinned deep? How about Daren Bates getting in there and causing a fumble? Just absolutely serendipitous the way everything came together for the Titans yesterday.
This was a legitimate team win, a well-balanced, solid performance in all facets of the game.
If the Titans can keep playing the way they’ve played against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Jags, they might not only make the playoffs, but they could make a little bit of noise in the AFC.
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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