The Tennessee Titans haven’t been scoring any style points during their three-game winning streak, as the offense continues to struggle while the defense routinely saves the day.
But we’re a glass-half-full website here and at the end of the day the Titans are 3-2 — and very realistically could be 4-1 — and sit alone atop the AFC South going into the bye week.
While we continue to believe the Titans are the class of this division and will win it even if they don’t clean up their issues completely, Tennessee must get things corrected if it hopes to make a run in the playoffs.
Thankfully, the bye week comes at the perfect time, as the Titans will look to get healthy on top of trying to figure out their problems.
We’ll talk about some of those problems right now as we take a look at the five biggest takeaways from the Week 5 win over the Commanders.
Pass protection was awful
Tennessee’s pass protection was absolutely dreadful on Sunday thanks to a lackluster performance from the offensive line. Ryan Tannehill was sacked five times and pressured and hit on 13 drop-backs overall.
Left tackle Dennis Daley was the biggest problem, leading the team with four pressures allowed. Pro Football Focus credited him with allowing one sack but it felt like he gave up at least two.
Daley leads the team in pressures (nine) and sacks (two) allowed the last two weeks. Unfortunately, unlike other positions, nobody is coming to save the Titans here. This passing attack can’t hope to improve if Daley and the offensive line as a whole plays the way it did in Week 5.
Titans were lucky to score second-half points
For the first time in three games, the Titans actually scored some second-half points; the problem is fixed!
Not so fast…
While nice to see, it was still only seven points and Tennessee was quite lucky to score those points thanks to a 61-yard catch by Nick Westbrook-Ikhine that helped setup a third-quarter touchdown drive.
On the play, it didn’t appear things went as planned, which led to Tannehill just chucking it up in the air to NWI down the field. And, while he made a great adjustment to come down with the pass, there’s no question the Titans were lucky things went the way they did.
Other than that play, the Titans’ offense was lifeless in the second half once again. On their other four drives, the Titans went three-and-out three times and had a seven-play drive that gained a total of zero yards because of a sack.
Fixing the second-half offense should be priority No. 1 during the bye.
Despite some warts, defense is the MVP thus far
There’s no question the Titans’ defense has its issues, especially with injuries and in the secondary, but you simply cannot ask for much more than what the unit has done for this team in 2022.
If I had told you before the season that the Titans would have a winning record despite averaging 19.2 points per game, you would have called me crazy, but that’s exactly where things are.
If you take out the 41-point shellacking at the hands of the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee’s defense is surrendering just 19.2 points per contest, including 18.6 in the last three.
Making this even more impressive is the fact that the Titans have done it without SEVERAL key defensive players, which has also led to the team starting 20 different players on that side of the ball — 20!
And there are reasons for optimism that things can get even better for this unit, as we could see the returns of Bud Dupree, Amani Hooker, Zach Cunningham, Ola Adeniyi and Elijah Molden after the Week 6 bye.
Without question, the defense has been the MVP through five games.
Caleb Farley is done
It’s five games into his second season and we have seen zero signs of progress from 2021 first-round pick, Caleb Farley. I hope I’m wrong, but Farley’s career in the NFL looks cooked.
Farley saw just nine snaps in Week 5 but still managed to stand out for the wrong reason. The Virginia Tech product was torched for a 75-yard touchdown catch that saw him stumble before giving it up.
Terrance Mitchell once again saw the field over Farley, getting 55 snaps to Farley’s nine. The second-year pro is set to get buried even deeper down the depth chart when Elijah Molden returns.
I’ve been a proponent of still running Farley out there despite the issues he’s seen because he desperately needs the reps, but he’s too big of a liability to justify that stance anymore.
Kevin Dyson was a guest on “Ramon, Kayla and Will” on 104.5 The Zone on Monday and suggested the Titans think about moving Farley to safety. That’s not a bad idea considering he looks finished at cornerback.
Perfect time for a bye
No team in the NFL needs a bye as much as the Titans right now. Tennessee remains one of the most injured teams in the league after five weeks. But help should be on the way after the bye.
We’ve already touched on the potential returns of Molden, Cunningham, Dupree, Adeniyi and Hooker, a group that will no doubt give an already impressive defense a lift.
On the offensive side of the ball, we could see the 2022 debut of wide receiver Racey McMath, also.
Now, let’s be real, McMath isn’t going to be some savior here. However, what he will do is give the Titans some speed and a deep threat in their receiving corps., two things the current group is greatly lacking.
Long story short: a bye week is just what the doctor ordered for the Titans as they look to get healthy ahead of an important divisional showdown in Week 7 against the Indianapolis Colts.
