The Tennessee Titans continued their unbeaten streak at home, defeating the Carolina Panthers 17-10 in a battle between the two worst teams in the south divisions.
Sunday’s win ended the Titans’ three-game skid, bumping their record to 4-7. Fortunately for Tennessee, four out of its final six games are at home, so we’ll see if the Titans are capable of stacking some wins.
As for yesterday’s game, it was an impressive performance from the defense, especially the Titans’ front seven. The offense had its moments, but it was far too inconsistent to survive against better teams.
Regardless, a win is a win, so it’s nice to see the Titans getting back in the win column, even though it hurt their draft positioning and won’t mean much during what is almost certainly going to be another year without the playoffs.
With all that said, there were a handful of truly impressive performances, but before we dive right into them, it should be noted that all the stats used were collected from ESPN’s database.
Now, let’s dive right in and see which position groups received the highest grades following the Titans’ Week 12 victory over the Panthers.
Quarterback: C+
It was a tale of two halves for the Titans’ rookie quarterback.
Will Levis was superb in the first half, looking poised while showing off his rare arm talent throughout the first 30 minutes of play. Unfortunately, his play, along with the entire offense, noticeably dropped off after halftime.
Despite the struggles, his flashes when he’s on are ridiculously impressive, and for that reason, he gets a slightly above-average grade from me.
Running back: B
Derrick Henry got back to producing at a relatively high level, rushing for 76 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries.
Henry isn’t hitting the home runs we’ve grown accustomed to in Tennessee, but he’s still a real problem to deal with when given an adequate workload.
Wide receivers: C
Sunday’s performance wasn’t anything special from this group, but the trio of DeAndre Hopkins, Chris Moore, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine combined for 131 yards on 10 catches between the three of them.
This grade would’ve been higher had Levis seen a wide-open Hopkins on a play that should’ve been a long touchdown had they connected.
Tight ends: C+
Chig Okonkwo noticeably put in extra work on the jugs machine this week, and that extra effort paid off as he made a couple of nice catches in yesterday’s contest.
Okonkwo was second on the team in receiving yards, totaling 45 on four catches. Rookie Josh Whyle added another 11 yards as well. Both of them, along with Trevon Wesco, had a couple of nice blocks, as well.
Offensive line: C+
Given the circumstances, I thought the Titans’ offensive line performed well against a formidable front.
The unit only allowed one sack and just four quarterback hits on the day while also helping to do their part on Henry’s two touchdown runs. Overall, this was one of Tennessee’s better performances upfront, which isn’t really saying much but is still a step in the right direction.
Defensive line: A
Jeffery Simmons was absolutely ridiculous on Sunday. It seemed like every other play he was wreaking havoc and making his presence felt against a banged-up Panthers offensive line that was overmatched.
The Mississippi State product finished the day with five tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, and one quarterback hit. The rest of the defensive line performed well but Simmons easily stole the show amongst that group.
Outside linebackers: A
Arden Key and Denico Autry had their way with the Panthers’ tackles. The two of them combined for five tackles, four quarterback hits, three sacks, three tackles for loss, and one forced fumble.
Meanwhile, Harold Landry had a relatively quiet day, but he did produce another quarterback hit to add to the group’s overall total.
This was the type of performance we all expected to consistently get out of this unit. Unfortunately, that’s hardly been the case when they aren’t playing the worst team in the NFL.
Inside linebackers: C+
This was another solid performance by Azeez Al-Shaair and Co.. He’s a very well-rounded linebacker who consistently holds his own against the run and in coverage. He might not always be the one who makes the play, but No. 2 is seemingly always around the ball.
As for the rest of the unit, Monty Rice and Jack Gibbens had a few nice moments, but both continue to put themselves in disadvantageous positions. Rice, in particular, is too aggressive at times, which causes him to bite on fakes, subsequently getting him out of position. He has the talent to be really good at times, but he’ll never reach his full potential if he doesn’t hone that in a bit.
Cornerbacks: C
This wasn’t a bad performance or anything of that nature, but this group continues to rack up unacceptable penalties that end up bailing out the opposing team.
It was nice to get Sean Murphy-Bunting back in the lineup, and his presence was felt almost immediately. He almost made a spectacular diving interception that he maybe reels in if he wasn’t just a few weeks out from having thumb surgery. Roger McCreary had another solid day as well.
Overall, this grade probably would have ended up much higher had it not been for Kristian Fulton’s constant mental lapses. Even still, this grade is better than what the group has been receiving for much of the season.
Safeties: B-
Amani Hooker quietly had an impressive day. He led the team in tackles with 11 as he routinely stuck his nose in the run game and made the game-sealing tackle on 4th-and-6. That is one area where the team had been missing Kevin Byard, so it was nice to see Hooker embracing that role along the backend.
He did have a couple of mishaps in coverage, so I can’t go “A” here, but he had a strong day for the most part.
Aside from him, K’Von Wallace and Elijah Molden had solid performances, as well. The three of them combined for a whopping 24 tackles on the day.
Specialists: A+
Per usual, Ryan Stonehouse, Nick Folk, and Morgan Cox were amazing at their respective jobs. Folk nailed a 53-yard field goal at the end of the half, while Stonehouse’s most impressive moment came after he bombed a 71-yard punt to pin the Panthers at the four-yard line.
