Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Shaun Calderon

More data shows how dismal Titans’ 2022 offense was on early downs

The Todd Downing experiment in Tennessee was disastrous from the start and it didn’t take long to realize how big of a downgrade Downing was in comparison to what Arthur Smith brought to the team during his tenure.

This entire offseason, Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis has done a good job of pointing out just how lackluster Tennessee’s former offensive coordinator was, even calling Downing a “double agent trying to make life difficult for the Titans offense.”

Sharp recently decided to research a variety of topics surrounding first-half offenses around the league, and unsurprisingly, the Titans’ Downing-led offense didn’t fare favorably in either category.

The Titans not only finished with the most first-down runs which resulted in a maximum gain of two yards or less (58), Tennessee also produced the sixth-lowest pass rate on early downs (49.4 percent).

Needless to say, routinely putting the Titans’ one-dimensional offense in 3rd-and-longs was a recipe for disaster, and it’s one of many reasons why Downing is no longer running the offense.

Let’s hope a Tim Kelly-led group produces a more balanced and unpredictable attack on early downs in order to help put the offense in more manageable situations throughout the game.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.