One area where the Tennessee Titans desperately needed improvement in going into the 2022 season was pass protection, where the team struggled mightily in 2021.
Despite having two new starters and an offensive line that didn’t play preseason snaps together in its entirety, the unit performed well.
Tennessee’s group upfront allowed just one sack and was able to keep the pocket clean for quarterback Ryan Tannehill for much of the game. Run-blocking wasn’t as good, but there will be better days in that area.
One bit of information needed for more context is the Giants were missing two key pass-rushers in Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari, so New York’s defense wasn’t at full strength.
Tennessee won’t get that same break when they travel to Highmark Stadium to take on the Buffalo Bills in Week 2, which will be a much bigger test.
While the Titans’ offensive line certainly passed the eye and box score tests, how did advanced metrics view its outing? Let’s dive into the numbers courtesy of ESPN and Pro Football Focus.
Overall performance
Here's how good ESPN and PFF thinks your favorite team's pass protection was in week 1
The big surprises are ATL, CHI, & TEN (on the good side) and LA & TB (on the bad) pic.twitter.com/dQW4u8vunT
— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) September 13, 2022
Tennessee’s offensive line as a whole posted a pass-block win rate above 70 percent and a Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade over 70. After what we saw last season, we’ll take these numbers every time.
Now, on to the individual performances.
PFF pass-block grades
1. RG Nate Davis: 83.9
2. LT Taylor Lewan: 79.2
3. C Ben Jones: 65.8
4. RT Nicholas Petit-Frere: 62.5
5. LG Aaron Brewer: 42.6
Davis and Lewan were excellent, while Jones and Petit-Frere were acceptable. Brewer brings up the rear as the weakest link.
Sacks/Hits/Hurries/Pressures allowed
LT Taylor Lewan: 0/0/0/0
LG Aaron Brewer: 0/2/1/3
C Ben Jones: 0/0/1/1
RG Nate Davis: 0/0/0/0
RT Nicholas Petit-Frere: 0/0/0/0
Three of the five linemen put up all bagels, while Jones was nearly flawless. Brewer once again was the weakest link of the group.
Other pass-block grades
RB Hassan Haskins: 84.6
RB Derrick Henry: 82.0
RB Dontrell Hilliard: 74.8
TE Geoff Swaim: 74.8
TE Chigoziem Okonkwo: 72.7
FB Tory Carter: 70.1
TE Austin Hooper 11.7
Haskins only played seven pass-block snaps, but that’s an impressive number nonetheless for the rookie, who appeared to be the preference over Hilliard when Tennessee needed a pass-protector in the backfield for its final drive.
Hooper’s grade is dreadful, but he had just three pass-block snaps. Swaim had two more and performed much better in his. A good number from Chig, but that was on one pass-block snap.
PFF run-blocking grades
1. RG Nate Davis: 77.7
2. RT Nicholas Petit-Frere: 73.5
3. LG Aaron Brewer: 69.7
4. LT Taylor Lewan: 64.5
5. C Ben Jones: 57.7
Finally, Brewer has a good showing, although we’d definitely like to see that grade come up. Davis was the Titans’ best run-blocker and pass protector based on PFF’s grades, so a good day for the right guard. NPF wasn’t too far behind, though.
