The Tennessee Titans did themselves no favors in what was ultimately a 20-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12 at Nissan Stadium.
Buy Titans TicketsThe Titans’ offense was able to move the ball through the air in this game, but finishing was an issue, with the Titans failing to score on all three of their red-zone trips.
Despite that and a non-existent run game for the third straight contest, the Titans found themselves down just four with around two minutes left and the Bengals going for a field goal to make it a seven-point game.
However, a boneheaded penalty from defensive lineman Kevin Strong gave the Cincinnati a first down and secured the victory for the Bengals with Tennessee not having any more timeouts to stop the clock.
The defeat snaps the Titans’ two-game winning streak and sends them to Philly to face the Eagles off a loss. Here’s everything we know from the Week 12 game.
Final score: Bengals 20, Titans 16
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| CIN | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
| TEN | 0 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
It was over when...
Titans defensive lineman Kevin Strong was flagged for a penalty during a Bengals field goal attempt that would’ve made it a seven-point game but given the Titans the ball back with a chance to tie with just under two minutes remaining.
With Tennessee having no timeouts, the Bengals were able to just kneel the game away.
Titans' top performers
RB Derrick Henry: 17 carries, 38 yards; 3 receptions, 79 yards
QB Ryan Tannehill: 22/34, 291 yards; 2 carries, 9 yards
WR Treylon Burks: 4 catches, 70 yards; 1 fumble recovery TD
DeMarcus Walker: 2 tackles (2 for loss), 1 sack, 2 QB hits
Instant analysis
-The Titans couldn’t get anything going on the ground for the third straight game, and while the passing attack was able to complete some big plays and put together some solid series, the Titans failed to finish multiple potential touchdown drives. Tennessee came into this game as the second-best red-zone offense in the NFL but was 0-3 on Sunday.
-Pass protection was not good and night and day from where it was last week. Ryan Tannehill wasn’t as sharp as the last two games, but he was definitely good enough with the game basically all on his arm.
-Tennessee’s continued struggles with run-blocking have become very concerning. Ben Jones was missed big time in this one.
-After making some strides as a play-caller the last few weeks, Todd Downing was back to his old ways. His insistence on continuing to go to Geoff Swaim remains puzzling, and his predictability and calling plays short of the sticks on third downs were even bigger issues.
-Tennessee’s defense was dominant on third downs in the first half, holding Cincinnati to 0-4. However, the Bengals flipped the script in the second half, succeeding on five of 10 tries in the final two quarters.
-The lack of a pass-rush made things more difficult for the secondary, which wasn’t too bad overall. The group struggled with Tee Higgins, who proved to be every bit of the difficult matchup we thought he’d be. However, Higgins also had to make some tough contested catches, so it wasn’t for a lack of trying.
-While it wasn’t the defense’s finest effort, holding the third-best scoring offense in the NFL to just 20 points is nothing to be ashamed about. Tennessee’s loss on Sunday was on the offense.
-Rookie kicker Caleb Shudak showed a strong leg on kickoffs and made three of his four field goal attempts, all of which were 38 yards or shorter. His miss came on a chip-shot 35-yarder.
Injuries
LB David Long (undisclosed): Long got shaken up in the fourth quarter and was spotted going into the medical tent. Thankfully, he would return.
What's next
Coming off a Week 12 loss, the Titans (7-4) will head to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in what is the first game between A.J. Brown and his old team. There will be no shortage of interest and storylines for that one, so get ready for a long week leading up to the game.
