Things were coming up Titans left and right yesterday against the Chicago Bears. The defense played like they were damn sick and tired of hearing all of us no-names talking about how shitty they’ve been all season. I was expecting an inspired response to the Bengals game, but I’d be lying if I said I saw that level of dominance coming.
And, don’t let that 24-17 final score fool you. It wasn’t ever really that close. Sure, the Bears made things interesting late…but, the Tennessee Titans were in firm control of that game from bell to bell. That’s not to say that everything was all sunshine and rainbows though, as the Titans clearly have a little work to do to get the offense back up to performing at the level it was earlier in the season.
Ryan Tannehill had an effective game, but got off to a bit of rough start, going 0/4 to start the game. Anthony Firkser and Corey Davis both had egregious drops, Rodger Saffold was hurt, and Derrick Henry didn’t really get going like we’re used to seeing him do. He finished the game with just 68 yards on 21 carries. Aside from a 26-yard run, there weren’t any highlight reel worthy plays from #22, and the coaching staff seemed a little more eager than usual to pull him from the field and sub in Jeremy McNichols and D’Onta Foreman.
If you look at the snap count, Henry was only in on 52.7% of the offensive snaps yesterday. McNichols was in on 29.1% of the snaps, and Foreman was in on 14.5%.
#Titans offensive skill players snap counts vs. #Bears. 12 personnel. Jonnu Smith with 52 snaps, Anthony Firkser with 27. Top 3 WRs: A.J. Brown with 45 snaps, Corey Davis with 43 and Kalif Raymond with 14. Derrick Henry only played 29 snaps. That # will increase vs Colts. pic.twitter.com/4eKNxfWmfJ
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) November 8, 2020
As a whole, the Titans running game really didn’t get a whole lot of anything going. But, the snap count for this one is telling. I have no idea whether or not the intent of the Titans coaching staff was to actually give Henry a bit of a rest, or if it really was as simple as playing the match-ups in the game. That’s not what I’m saying – regardless of their intentions, the fact is that having a couple of capable guys behind him affords them the opportunity to do so.
The Titans are in a position that I don’t think they’ve been in since DeMarco Murray had a career resurgence in Nashville with Henry backing him up. This group was particularly stellar against the Bengals, when McNichols averaged 12.3 yards per carry and Foreman averaged 7.4. If you have guys that can come on in relief of Henry and run physically and with outright force, that’s a great thing for this Titans offense.
It goes to show how deep this unit is, and it could prove useful – particularly, think about the context of yesterday. You have the Indianapolis Colts coming up on Thursday Night Football. It’s a short week – you probably don’t want to beat up your bell cow when he has to turn around and attack one of the best defenses in the entire league in just four days.
Again, I’m not saying that is what happened. I’m just saying that it would make sense if it were, and it’s something that the Titans could utilize moving forward, particularly in non-conference games in which the stakes aren’t necessarily as high.
I wouldn’t be concerned about this lack of production from Henry and the run game at all. The Bears have a good defense, and it’s probably good to save some mileage on Henry for January again. And, yes – I’m already making plans for January…
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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