The Tennessee Titans had another underwhelming performance on the road on Sunday, losing their first AFC South showdown of the year to the Indianapolis Colts, 23-16
You know it’s a bad day when an offensive unit that largely looked average, at best, for the majority of the day was the brightest spot on the team.
Buy Titans TicketsIt’s hardly an exaggeration to say this was a pathetic performance by the Titans’ defense on nearly every level.
The position group grades in this report card largely reflect that, with a few average grades sandwiched in between. The biggest disappointment/surprise of the day was how a historically great run defense was anything but that on Sunday afternoon.
At least the Titans still have their elite trio of specialists who are as consistent as you could possibly be at your job.
With all of that said, let’s take a closer look at each position group to see what grade they received following Sunday’s seven-point loss to the Colts.
Quarterback: C+
Ryan Tannehill played very well on Sunday. He made several big throws in the face of pressure and connected with DeAndre Hopkins plenty.
Unfortunately, those productive drives often sputtered in the red zone, forcing the team to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. For that, I can only give him a slightly above-average grade on the day
Running backs: B-
Derrick Henry and Tyjae Spears combined for 131 total yards, 77 of which came on the ground. They weren’t a liability by any means, but Henry and Spears didn’t have the monster type of game many of us hoped for.
And when Tennessee only needed to gain one yard to extend the drive near the end zone to potentially take a fourth-quarter lead, Henry was stuffed at the line of scrimmage.
Spears did end up having an electric touchdown run while averaging nearly five yards per carry, and he had the second-most receiving yards on the team, so he at least bumps the grade up to the B range.
Wide receivers: C
If I were grading players individually, DeAndre Hopkins would receive an A from me after he recorded 140 yards on eight catches.
Unfortunately, this grade is severely brought down by the fact that the rest of the receivers room combined for one catch for nine yards. Without Hopkins this group probably gets an F, so I landed right in the middle with a C.
Hopefully, once Treylon Burks returns from his knee injury, he’s able to provide a legitimate sidekick to Hopkins because he desperately needs it right now.
Tight ends: C
Chig Okonkwo, Trevon Wesco, and Josh Whyle had a few clutch catches on the day, combining for 61 yards on seven catches between the three of them.
Sadly, Okonkwo had a couple of negative plays that resulted in either a dropped pass or a penalty. Therefore, the best I can do is give them an average grade.
Offensive line: C
I didn’t think the offensive line was special by any means, but the unit played winning football on Sunday. The group upfront only allowed one sack but didn’t give the ground game much room to work with.
Unfortunately, the offensive line’s most notable moment of the game was not being able to provide enough room for Henry to gain a single yard in the red zone, which ultimately halted a potential go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter.
Nonetheless, the offensive line did its job in pass protection, which would’ve been enough to win this game if Tennessee’s offense could finish in the red zone.
Defensive line: F
If there’s one group who I thought I’d never give an F to, it’s 1,000 percent the Titans’ defensive line. Yet, here we are.
To say that Tennessee struggled with stopping the run would be putting it mildly. Tennessee desperately missed Teair Tart clogging up the middle of the defense, while Jeffery Simmons looked like a shell of himself after suffering a shoulder injury in the first half.
The Colts more than doubled the Titans’ season average by rushing for 193 yards on the ground, 132 of which came up the middle, per Next Gen Stats. On top of that, the defensive line was unable to get much pressure.
Let’s just hope this was an anomaly, but for now, this pathetic performance gets a pathetic grade.
Outside linebackers: D
This group felt non-existent for the majority of the game. To be fair, most of the Colts’ rushing yards came from the interior, but this group is consistently inconsistent at the moment. Arden Key has steadily become less of an impact player since his dominant season-opening performance, while Harold Landry looks nothing like the player he was prior to his knee injury.
Inside linebackers: D
Azeez Al-Shaair and Jack Gibbens combined for a whopping 25 tackles between the two of them, so having that type of production keeps the grade from being an F. But I really can’t go much higher than a D because there were several plays left on the table where they whiffed, subsequently allowing the Colts to make the play instead of themselves.
Cornerbacks: F
This grade is heavily influenced by Kristian Fulton’s disastrous performance, which, unfortunately, is starting to become a weekly thing at this point. Although, it was a rough day all around for the secondary.
Josh Downs carved the Titans’ secondary up, while Michael Pittman made a couple of big plays of his own. The two of them combined for 149 yards on 11 catches. Needless to say, that’s not good enough.
Safeties: D+
Kevin Byard and Amani Hooker were hardly the biggest problems on this dreadful afternoon, but they certainly weren’t the best safety tandem in the NFL they’re capable of being.
Zack Moss had a 56-yard touchdown run where the last line of the defense was nowhere to be found. You know it’s bad when I feel like this is one of the most generous grades I’ve given.
Specialists: A
Nick Folk continues to be arguably the team’s best player, Ryan Stonehouse still has a hammer for a leg, and Morgan Cox is the definition of consistent. If there’s one group that deserves an “A” after this performance, it’s undoubtedly these three.
