The Tennessee Titans traveled to Charlotte for a date with the Carolina Panthers at high noon (central time, anyway) today. Conditions are fine, as it’s a beautiful day in North Carolina for some football.
Titans-Panthers Recap
First Half
The Titans won the toss, elected to defer, and so started the game on defense. It was apparent from the start that the Panthers were going to try and dodge that Titans defensive line, getting Christian McCaffrey a couple of carries that bounced outside and getting Kyle Allen out of the pocket and on the move. The Panthers were forced to punt on their opening drive.
On their first offensive drive, the Titans were helped out by a defensive pass interference call. But, faced with 3rd & 14, failed to convert. Ryan Succop was trotted out for his first game this season, but missed the kick, keeping the game scoreless.
The second tipped Allen pass led to a Harold Landry interception. Kevin Byard recovered a fumble, but it was nullified by an illegal hands to the face penalty. Malcolm Butler had a nice pass breakup on D.J. Moore, and the defense absolutely blew up a double reverse attempt. The Titans started the game playing some damn good play-making defense.
The offense simply couldn’t keep up – faced with another 3rd & long, the Titans failed to convert. That makes for failures on 3rd & 14 and 3rd & 19. This drive, in particular, was plagued by atrocious offensive line play and ridiculous penalties, two on Taylor Lewan and one on Nate Davis.
Adoreé Jackson allowed a big reception to go through his hands, setting the Panthers up with some solid field position. McCaffrey got going on this drive, but a sack on Allen forced a field goal. Panthers take the 3-0 lead.
Dion Lewis fumbled the ball on the ensuing drive and the Panthers recovered. The Titans defense bowed up yet again, forcing a punt. But, Butler had a ball hit him directly in the chest that should’ve been an interception. The Panthers were forced to punt again, but it would only be a matter of a few plays before Donte Jackson intercepted a Ryan Tannehill pass that was batted up into the air. The Panthers made ’em pay – for some reason, McCaffrey was left wide open to haul in a touchdown pass that put the Panthers up 10-0.
UPDATE: #Titans drives so far today:
— The Unofficial Titans Podcast (@SoBrosTitans) November 3, 2019
-3rd & 14, PUNT
-3rd & 19, PUNT
-Dion Lewis fumbles
-Interception
The Titans offense just simply sucks. They couldn’t get anything going.
Allen started heating up late in the second half, completing large chunk plays to his receivers. The Titans sack Allen, but then the Panthers convert a 3rd & 14 to Moore. It’s hard to be frustrated with this defense because of what they’re tasked with. Those dudes HAVE to be growing frustrated with the same issues week in and week out, being asked to play perfect football to compensate for such a weak offense.
Curtis Samuel hauled in a touchdown reception that put the Panthers up 17-0. Ryan Succop misses another field goal to close the half.
Second Half
The Titans started the half with the ball. At this point in the game, the Titans had 28 rushing yards. Thankfully, someone told Arthur Smith that they do indeed have Derrick Henry available. Tannehill picked up a nice chunk of yardage, and after a long drive, Henry punched it in to pull the Titans to within 10 of the Panthers. Wow – see what happens when you run Henry against a suspect run defense?
It looked like the Titans were going to force the Panthers off the field, but the Panthers faked a punt on the ensuing drive that converted a first down. A heavy dose of McCaffrey, and a HELL of a circus catch from Moore set the Panthers up with a first and goal that McCaffrey converted into a touchdown with ease. All of the momentum the Titans brought out of the locker room with them was sucked away, NINE penalties being a large reason for that. The Panthers took a 24-7 lead.
On defense, the Panthers switched things up after seeing Henry march methodically down the field and score to open the second half. They got up to the line and dialed up the pressure. It worked – Tannehill was hit by a Panthers defender that broke through the line untouched. After another 3rd & long, the Titans punted again.
A little bit of vanilla offense from the Panthers, who seem to be well aware that they can just run the clock out, followed. The Titans forced ’em to punt, and they nailed one inside the five, where the Titans started the drive. A couple of explosive plays to Adam Humphries and Brown set the Titans up with 23 yards to go. Henry made a hell of a play and took a screen pass through traffic into the end zone. The Titans pulled to within 10 again, now down 24-14.
The Panthers kept plugging away with McCaffrey and eventually broke the dam, tearing off a 58-yard touchdown run. That could be the back-breaker, folks. Just when the offense gets going, the defense shits the bed. A blocked extra point made it 30-14, Panthers.
As a response, Tannehill threw a pick to Tre Boston in what was the dagger for this game. The only reason the Titans had a chance was because of a missed field goal. But, once the Titans offense got the ball back, they were throwing screen passes to Dion Lewis down 16, sooooo…..
11 penalties for 99 yards for the #Titans today.
— The Unofficial Titans Podcast (@SoBrosTitans) November 3, 2019
Tannehill made some nice throws, and even scored a rushing touchdown (with a failed two-point conversion), but it was too little too late. The Panthers win this one 30-20 in a game that was much more one-sided than the final score would indicate.
The Panthers travel to Green Bay to play the Packers on 11/10. The Titans play host to the Kansas City Chiefs on 11/10.
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. Become a Patron. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Watch on YouTube.
