Takeaways: Titans Drop a Dud Again; This Time in New York

For the second time this season, the Tennessee Titans completely imploded.

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The Tennessee Titans traveled to New Jersey earlier today as six-point favorites over the 0-3 New York Jets. The team was beat up with injuries all over the board. But, with a healthy Derrick Henry and an improved defense over the last six quarters of football, they still should’ve handled business. And yet, for the second time this season, they totally shit the bed. The Jets defensive front that we talked about all week long showed us exactly why some analysts were calling for this upset – Ryan Tannehill was under constant pressure, and the Titans could hardly do anything to negate it. So, the result was a 27-24 loss in overtime on a…color me shocked…missed field goal. This game felt like a classic Titans letdown game all week, and that’s exactly what it ended up being.

Takeaways:

Either the Jets had no faith in their passing game, or they saw something that made them think they could establish a physical rushing attack early. They were unsuccessful on their first three drives, adjusted on their fourth, and really got the offense going. Good adjustments there. Once they made the change to work in more shots down the field, this became a different game. They had a really good drive in the 2nd quarter that was capped with a physical Michael Carter touchdown run. That was the turning point in the game.
The Titans offense had some success getting their running backs in space and away from that respectable Jets defensive front. Jeremy McNichols converted a screen on 3rd & 21 that was absolutely absurd. On the last play of the first quarter, Henry got around that front and made a play. That is how you beat that front, and when they needed the yardage, they were able to get it. I’m not sure why they didn’t utilize more of it.
Josh Reynolds saw his first game action of the season. Overall, my impression of him was pretty positive – I think it’s important to remember that his ceiling in this offense is WR3, and he’s not going to be leaned on as heavily as he was today on a regular occasion. He showed his route-running capabilities in converting a 3rd & 4 by finding the soft spot in the Jets’ zone coverage and holding onto the ball while taking a shot. He damn near caught what would’ve been a miracle touchdown, laying out for the ball against good coverage, but he was unable to hold onto it after slamming forcefully into the ground. In the second half, he had his guy beat, but Tannehill was slightly off on a deep bomb that forced him to slow down and adjust. He was shaken up on the play, but got back in there and converted more third downs. Once AJ Brown and Julio Jones get back and healthy, Reynolds could look a lot better.
Let’s talk about that offensive line, because HOOBOY was it bad. Taylor Lewan had two bad penalties on him, allowed Jets defenders to beat him around the edge, and was hurt again. Rodger Saffold illegally caught a damn pass. Ben Jones was called for a bad holding penalty. Nate Davis completely froze on a play, decided to tackle NOBODY and allowed a horrendous sack. David Quessenbery was routinely beat. Aaron Brewer, who is a downgrade from Jones, sent a snap to the fucking moon on 3rd & 1 and forced the Titans to settle for a field goal. It was every bit as bad as that Week 1 fiasco, and I think it’s fair to wonder if this unit should be a major concern moving forward. This was supposed to be a strength of the team, but Tannehill is fighting for his life on almost every play. It’s a wonder that Henry has as many yards as he does behind this unit. Tannehill was sacked six times.
Mistakes absolutely plagued the Titans – aside from the bad snap by Brewer and the penalties on the offensive line, Kristian Fulton gave a huge cushion to Corey Davis who was able to come up with a big play. Tough day for the rest of the Titans secondary, too – Jackrabbit Jenkins was late to the play in overtime, and gave up a critical catch. Breon Borders was beat on a Davis touchdown. Dane Cruikshank was called for a critical pass interference penalty in the 4th quarter that gave up over 40 yards. He was in great position to make a play, but instead of going up for the ball, he simply bumped into Davis, drawing the flag. He knew it right away, too. There was a terrible 15-yard punt by Townsend. The Titans were in control much of the first half, but they just kept doing dumb shit that hurts the team. Then, there was the delay of game penalty in overtime that forced the Titans back. Randy Bullock missed the game-tying field goal, which is the regime’s failure to adequately address that position rearing its ugly head again.
Teams are not going to fear this Titans passing game AT ALL as long as Brown and Jones are out.
The Jets downright played with more fire and intensity than the Titans. I don’t think it’s unreasonable at all to call the mental toughness of this team into question. They have a bit of Jekyll & Hyde to ’em. When things have started going bad this season, they quickly crumble. When they’re playing confidently, they play well. After a 2-2 start, I think the word I land on is wildly inconsistent – until they play with a little more stability and resolve, we shouldn’t expect this team to go very deep in the playoffs.
You could see those flashes of what made Zach Wilson so appealing – in the 4th quarter, he drops a snap, and then scrambles to hit Jamison Crowder for a clutch play. He was scrambling and creating opportunities all game long.
It wasn’t all bad, though – Harold Landry had himself A DAY – seven tackles, a sack, and three TFLs. He was routinely rattling Wilson.
In addition to Landry, Jayon Brown made a hell of a play, tackling Wilson by his shoe on a 3rd & 6 that kept the Titans in the game. In overtime, Denico Autry took the right angle and corralled Wilson on a scramble that also kept the Titans in the game. It’s a shame that neither play ended up mattering in the end.

Game Balls

Harold Landry – He was consistently a factor for the Jets offense to deal with today.
Jeremy McNichols – Props to him for being the Titans biggest offensive weapon not named Derrick Henry today. He converted several critical third downs and ended up being the team’s WR1 with eight catches for 74 yards.
Derrick Henry – How he’s able to stack up the yardage he does behind this offensive line is beyond me. He continues to be the best player on this team week in and week out.
Ryan Tannehill – There were a few times I was screaming at my TV for Tannehill to get rid of the ball. I figured you have to have a timer with this offensive line to get the ball out as quickly as possible, but to his credit, maybe nobody was open downfield. When the Titans needed him, he was able to engineer one of the gutsiest drives I’ve seen this season to tie the game. He finished 30/49 for 298 yards and a touchdown. He deserves some credit for giving this team a chance.

That game was an outright disaster for the Titans – bad offensive line play, questionable coaching decisions, injuries, and the failure of this regime to adequately address the kicker position all reared their ugly heads again. The Titans will look to clean a ton of shit up for a game against the 0-4 Jacksonville Jaguars next week.

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