It sure as hell wasn’t pretty, but the Tennessee Titans managed to come away from yesterday’s home against the Houston Texans with their undefeated record intact (5-0). Once again, questions remain about the defense’s ability to get hard stops, specifically on third down. But, one thing that isn’t up for debate is just how good this offense is – it’s elite. I mean….NFL-wide elite.
In the thrilling 42-36 overtime victory, Ryan Tannehill went 30/41 for 364 yards and four touchdowns. Once again, he showed a firm control of the Titans offense, and delivered when it mattered most. With only a minute and 46 seconds left on the clock, Tannehilll went 8/9 for 76 yards as the Titans marched down the field, and hit AJ Brown for the game-tying touchdown that would send the game into overtime.
Derrick Henry, who had already been dominant against the Texans defense, took over in overtime, catching a short pass and taking it 53 yards. Then, on the final play of the game, he lined up for a direct snap and behind a sick block from Anthony Firkser, plowed into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. On the day, Henry had 212 yards on the ground, and 52 through the air, with two rushing scores to boot. Like I said….dominant.
Henry and Tannehill both had MVP-worthy performances, but yesterday’s game demonstrated just how deep this Titans offense is too. Corey Davis was out. Jonnu Smith and Taylor Lewan both left the game with an injury. And yet, guys stepped up and kept making plays.
The return of Brown has given this offense a nice boost – he has three touchdowns through two games, and is averaging 69 yards per game since his return (#nice). He’s picking up right where he left off in 2019 (when he should have won Offensive Rookie of the Year – yeah, I’ll remind y’all of that every chance I get), and gives Tannehill a weapon that defenses are forced to respect whether he’s getting the ball or not.
Firkser had a massive game – the eight catch, 113-yard with a touchdown stat line sure looks good as hell, but there’s a lot more he did yesterday that won’t show up in the box score. Converting key third downs, making tough contested catches, being a sort of safety valve for Tannehill. The fact that your stud, breakout tight end is out and you can go to a guy like that and not miss a beat is huge.
Fresh off the covid list, Adam Humphries had himself a day as well – six catches, 64 yards, and a touchdown. He was also up to his usual first-down-converting ways. In spelling Henry, Jeremy McNichols put 51 yards on the board, and averaged 10.2 yards per carry against the Texans. NINE different Titans caught passes from Tannehill yesterday.
Seriously – it’s okay to say this….this is one of the deepest, most talented, and best offenses in the entire NFL.
The defense showed flashes at times, and made plays when they absolutely needed ’em. Mike Vrabel was right in his post-game presser, saying there were some positive on defense that were unfortunately overshadowed by a lot of things the Titans still need to fix. This is going to be a ‘bend don’t break’ unit in 2020, it appears. The difference, as compared to past Titans team, is that they field an offense that can bail ’em out when they aren’t playing particularly well. You can’t help but wonder if the clock is going to run out on Cinderella, but there’s still plenty of time (and plenty of talent, for that matter) to sort the defense out.
All in all, this is one of the best offenses in the NFL, and it’s a unit that will keep this team in games. It’s odd to feel like as long as there’s time on the clock, the Titans are in any game against any opponent, but we’re here, Titans fans. And, it’s okay to say it – the 5-0 Titans are legit Super Bowl contenders.
MOOD:
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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