Takeaways: Titans Smother the Jags, 37-19

The Titans get a big time "get right" win over the Jags, 37-19.

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The Tennessee Titans traveled to DUUUUUUVAL for a date with the Jacksonville Jaguars at high noon. For the Titans, it was an opportunity for a “get right” game after losing to the lowly New York Jets a week ago, and that’s exactly what we saw. The Titans were able to create some turnovers, get some solid stops, and pound the Jags defense into submission with Derrick Henry. They’re leaving Jacksonville with a commanding 37-19 win to improve to 3-2 on the season. As Mike Vrabel pointed out in his press conference, there’s plenty to correct and plenty to work on moving forward, but for now, Titans fans can let out a sigh of relief. Let’s get to the takeaways.

Takeaways: Titans def. Jags, 37-19

CB Elijah Molden made a hell of a play on the opening drive, putting a hit on a Jags receiver that knocked the ball loose. S Kevin Byard was able to recover it and get it into the end zone for the scoop n’ score. This is what you want Molden doing because it’s what he does well….not running downfield with Tyler Lockett. I will say that I thought that ball could’ve been called incomplete. It was the first of a few calls that favored the Titans on the day. Molden is still a solid piece in this defense because of his twitchy maneuverability in space and his solid tackling. In the post-game press conference, he noted that he is “owning his role” right now.
The Titans defense was doing well to flush Trevor Lawrence out of the pocket and generate pressure on him, but it doesn’t help much when defensive backs are still lining up downfield and allowing opposing offensive skill players plenty of opportunities to find space. The Titans basically told us this was a personnel issue a season ago, so they blew up the secondary. And yet, here we are – this soft coverage is still an issue. Maybe it’s time we just say it’s a schematic issue that isn’t working. I don’t know – I’m just spitballin’ here. It didn’t end up being a factor in the game overall, but the Jags skill players were able to make plays throughout the game.
The offense took a delay of game penalty on 3rd & 12 – that was a head-scratcher. Considering TE Anthony Firkser made the play on 3rd & 17, those five yards lost would’ve come in handy and converted on that play. Buck Reising asked Vrabel about this play in his post-game press conference, to which he replied “we didn’t snap it in time.” He elaborated on that, telling Buck there’s a lot of moving parts and they were trying to make sure the right personnel was out there, but that one ultimately “starts with me.” He cited this play as an example of the things they need to clean up moving forward.
OC Todd Downing had an excellent drive in the 2nd quarter (their third drive of the day) – the Titans were mixing up the play calls with several end-arounds, getting multiple guys involved. WR Chester Rogers, WR Marcus Johnson, WR Cameron Batson, and of course, Henry got looks. They pushed the tempo and kept the Jags defense on its heels. It was capped off by a masterful play to TE MyCole Pruitt for a Titans touchdown on which the formation had the Jags confused and the Titans offense was able to capitalize on it. This drive is the perfect example of what the Titans offense looks like at its best, and it made me think everything might be starting to jell. Remember, it took Arthur Smith a few games to find it. It could be a similar situation for Downing.
RB James Robinson had a big first half (110 yards and a touchdown), and finished the game with 149 yards, averaging 8.3 yards per carry. That came as a bit of a surprise as the Titans run defense has played relatively well this season. Robinson is a top 10 back in the league and the fact that he wasn’t getting more carries early on in Jacksonville this year was puzzling. It seems Urban Meyer and company corrected that and it paid off. Byard called him one of the most underrated backs in the league.
Johnson was just called up from IR, and saw his first game action of the year. He looked like a valuable addition to the offense, converting a 3rd & 5 and a 3rd & 4 after a miscue early on in the game that saw QB Ryan Tannehill throw the ball into the dirt. Of course, none of us have access to a Titans playbook, so the best guess we can make is that Tannehill anticipated Johnson cutting in, but he took the route downfield. Those are chemistry and communication issues that they can clean up. It was obvious that Johnson has Tannehill’s trust. Vrabel noted Johnson’s “fluid movement” and said it was good to get him back.
The Titans offense saw more success out of stacked formations – AJ Brown ran out of one to convert a 3rd down – Titans wideouts can do and do so much out of these formations. Someone who watches a lot more film and has a lot more time than I do should take a deep dive into these formations.
LT Taylor Lewan and Henry ran into each other on a play late in the game. Lewan might’ve been driven back by a Jags defender who was running around him. They got to Tannehill. The ball came out, but his hand was moving forward, so it was ruled incomplete. Meyer challenged it, but the call stood. Seems like a couple of plays like this have gone the Titans way today. Not saying that was the difference in the game by any stretch of the imagination, but it helped, and it’s an aspect of the game the Titans cannot count on for sustained success. This happened later in the game too, when Lawrence was initially ruled to have scored a touchdown, but the call was overturned on a play that could’ve very well stood as a touchdown.
Todd Downing giveth. Todd Downing taketh away. A bad three-and-out kept the Jags in the game and gave ’em hope. Tannehill overthrows Johnson on first down. Henry is stuffed on second down. Then, RB Jeremy McNichols is run down on 3rd & 11, forcing a punt. This team hasn’t taken a lot of deep shots in this game, and I’m not sure if that’s a matter of the game plan, Tannehill not getting a whole lot of time, or guys not getting open downfield. Maybe a bit of all that. This drive ended up being completely inconsequential to the outcome of the game, but at the time, I did shudder, thinking this team was giving a bad team hope for the second week in a row. These sorts of drives are another issue this Titans team needs to clean up.
DL Teair Tart made a hell of a play on 4th & goal, forcing RB Carlos Hyde outside, and the Titans defensive backs – CB Chris Jackson, Byard, and CB Jackrabbit Jenkins SWARMED to the play and gang tackled Hyde for a loss.
CB Caleb Farley got some game action late, largely staying on WR Leviska Shenault in the 4th quarter – he was beat on what would’ve been a sure TD if Lawrence hadn’t missed on the throw. He had a nice one-on-one tackle of Jamal Agnew…not sure if Agnew was Farley’s responsibility in coverage, but a solid tackle nonetheless. You would’ve liked to see him keep that tackle in bounds, but that is obviously a nitpick on my part. He did a good job of driving Shenault back on the second to last play of the game and preventing him from making the catch, but he was helped out by a bad throw from Lawrence. The main thing here is that Farley is getting some valuable snaps and is being eased into the defense. He did not shit the bed.

Game balls

Kevin Byard – Byard had a fantastic game. In addition to the scoop ‘n score to start the game, he absolutely blanketed TE Dan Arnold to get the Jags off the field on 4th & 4. His tackle kept Lawrence out of the end zone. And, he capped it all off with the interception that officially ended the game
Harold Landry – continues to rule (except when dropping 1:1 into coverage). Today, he was a constant nuisance for Lawrence. He registered seven total tackles, two sacks, two TFLs, and three quarterback hits. It certainly looks like he’s playing his way into a shiny new contract.
David Long – Long had a hell of a game and continues to show out for this defense. He played well in the first half, getting behind the line of scrimmage and sniffing out plays before they got started. He had another key run stuff in the 4th quarter, and nearly picked off a pass with under six minutes in the game that probably would’ve put it away. When LB Jayon Brown gets healthy, I’d love for those two to be the starting inside linebackers moving forward.
Derrick Henry – What more can be said about this guy? This man deserves to be in the early MVP conversation – he’s a legitimate candidate. He finished the game with 130 yards and three touchdowns, and I’d actually say the Jags played him about as well as you could. It didn’t matter.

The Titans played a good game – but there’s still plenty to clean up as mentioned (the personnel issues that caused that delay of game penalty, the soft coverage (again), and more of the Pruitt touchdown drives and less three-and-outs). A few calls really helped them out today – they might not get those in bigger, tighter games. I’d say the main takeaway here is the consistency. Get more of this type of play going week in and week out, and they’ll be fine. They get ready for their biggest game of the season so far, hosting the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in a huge measuring stick game.

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