A Healthy AJ Brown Sparks the ‘Pick Your Poison’ Dynamic for the Titans Offense

It’s easy for us to sit here and say the Kansas City Chiefs were dumb to routinely stack the box against Derrick Henry and put an extra two or three defenders at the line of scrimmage on Sunday in hindsight. But, the reality is that that’s pretty much how you have to play Henry if you want to have any chance of crowding the backfield and getting to him before he gets going. For the Tennessee Titans offense, taking advantage of that and pushing the ball down the field is the next step in rounding out this unit as one of the most prolific in the league. With AJ Brown at the top of his game, Ryan Tannehill and company can do just that.

‘AJ vs. Chipotle’ has been one of the big stories surrounding the Titans over the last few weeks. Brown got off to a slow start compared to the wild success of his 2020 campaign anyway, tallying just 130 yards through the team’s first four games, battling injury, and coming in and out of the lineup. When it finally looked like it was all systems go for the Bills game, Brown was suddenly showing up on injury reports with an illness that turned out to be the byproduct of a bad Chipotle batch. He clearly wasn’t at full strength for that game, but still managed seven catches for 91 yards, his best of the season.

But, he’s clearly trending back towards full health. My theory is that the Chipotle actually made him stronger, but I am unsure of how the science of that plays out. I’ll have to check with my sources and update you guys. Nonetheless, he came out and had a hell of a game against the Chiefs, hauling in eight catches for 133 yards and this spectacular touchdown:

Touchdown #Titans! @1kalwaysopen_

: #KCvsTEN on CBS
: NFL app pic.twitter.com/rOYhOuj4Py

— NFL (@NFL) October 24, 2021

And, this is where we come full circle. That’s just one example of how a healthy AJ Brown takes this Titans offense over the top. The Chiefs put six guys in the box, their corners are playing tight on 3rd & 7, with two safeties back at the first down marker. Jeremy McNichols is in on pass protection – so, it’s on him to pick up the extra guy the Chiefs are sending. McNichols has proven to be a weapon catching the ball in this sort of situation, too. But, in this instance, he does well to pick up his guy and give Tannehill time to heave that ball at the end zone. Now, call me crazy, but this is the benefit of having a guy like Brown on the outside….Tannehill doesn’t even really have to think about this. He identifies that 1:1 match-up right away and it’s automatic. Touchdown. Having a guy like Brown, who you trust to play physical and win those tough match-ups makes the decision-making process a lot easier, and a lot quicker.

That’s the exact situation he can excel in – beating that man coverage. The Chiefs also had no answer for his in-breaking routes across the middle of the field. He just fuckin’ beats dudes and it makes everything a lot easier on his quarterback. Tannehill and Henry rightfully get a ton of credit for making this offense go, but Brown deserves some credit for making this offense lethal. They have plenty of options. Pick your poison, indeed.

Get ready for this week’s game against the Indianapolis Colts with the latest episode of The Unofficial Titans Podcast, on which I bring in Josh Carney of Horseshoe Huddle to break down the Colts and preview the big AFC South showdown:

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley

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