The Tennessee Titans had a long flight back to the United States after they lost an overseas battle to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 6.
Not only did Tennessee lose its second-straight contest, but this game honestly led to more questions than anything else, as the team now sits at 2-4 heading into the bye week.
This break is definitely needed. The Titans have some major reflecting they need to do, both individually and collectively. There are a lot of areas you could specifically point to for the team’s shortcomings, but simply put, Tennessee just isn’t playing good football.
The offense looks lifeless anytime it plays away from Nissan Stadium. The defense looks average, at best, which is a major disappointment considering many of us felt the Titans had the talent to be an elite unit on that side of the ball. Even the special teams struggled after looking rather reliable through the first five weeks of the season.
This week’s report card reflects yesterday’s poor effort in all three phases of the game. Scroll down below to see the grades we gave to each position group following the Titans’ eight-point loss to the Ravens.
Quarterbacks: F
The Titans’ quarterback play was simply unacceptable on Sunday.
Prior to leaving the game with an ankle injury, Ryan Tannehill completed just 50 percent of his passes, totaled 76 yards and threw an ugly interception in which he ignored a wide-open check down to underthrow a deep shot.
Malik Willis then came in and turned an NFL offense into the equivalent of backyard football with how inefficient and inconsistent his play was.
You gotta kick this guy outta the league for this play #titans +5 pic.twitter.com/Z2QN8grIZO
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) October 15, 2023
Willis continues to look inept at running an NFL offense that relies on timing and rhythm. He’s holding the ball for way too long and taking his eyes off downfield in order to try and make the play himself, as if he’s still at Liberty.
Over 63 percent of his yardage came on a 48-yard screen pass to Tyjae Spears. He certainly didn’t give the fanbase a reason to believe he should be the one to take over if Tannehill can’t play going forward.
Running backs: B-
Derrick Henry and Tyjae Spears continue to be two of the few bright spots on the offensive side of the ball.
Henry ran hard, nearly eclipsing 100 yards on the ground (97) on just 12 carries, and Spears is electric when given the chance. Whoever is the starting quarterback after the bye must continue to rely on these two going forward if they want to put themselves in the best position to succeed.
Wide receivers: D-
On a day in which Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown recorded his fourth-straight game of at least 125 receiving yards, the Titans failed to get any wide receiver to total more than 25 yards. Adding to that, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine dropped a touchdown pass.
I’ll be generous by giving them a slightly higher grade than an F, largely due to the inconsistent quarterback play, but a D- is the highest I can go here.
Tight ends: D
The Titans’ tight ends continue to be one of the more non-existent positions on the team. Chig Okonkwo has been a major disappointment through six games, and Josh Whyle got hurt and was forced to leave prematurely.
The two of them combined for just 29 yards on the day, but there were a couple of nice blocks thrown that kept this grade from being another F.
Offensive line: D
The Titans finally decided to bench Andre Dillard, and it paid dividends as Nicholas Petit-Frere looked much better in the small sample size we got.
Unfortunately, the offensive line still got smothered by the Ravens’ front seven throughout the contest, eventually getting their starting quarterback hurt because of it.
Willis’ inability to get rid of the ball within a reasonable amount of time played a huge role in the team allowing six sacks on the day. That spares the group upfront from a failing grade.
Defensive line: D+
The Titans’ dominant run defense hasn’t been the same ever since Teair Tart and Jeffery Simmons got hurt with their respective injuries. Tart hasn’t played at all over the last two weeks, and Simmons has been a shell of himself since suffering a shoulder injury against the Colts.
The Ravens combined for 139 yards on the ground, which is 44 yards more than they were averaging on the year. As for the Titans’ pass rush, it only recorded one sack on Lamar Jackson and struggled to consistently affect him in the passing game on a day in which he made things look easy.
From a health standpoint, this bye week is particularly important for the defensive line.
Inside linebackers: C-
Azeez Al-Shaair was all over the field in this one, but he often struggled to contain Jackson whenever the Ravens quarterback extended plays with his legs.
Both Al-Shaair and Jack Gibbens combined for 30 percent of the team’s tackles, so I’ll at least give them an average grade by the narrowest of margins.
Outside linebackers: C-
When it comes to the outside linebackers, Harold Landry finally made his presence felt, producing two tackles for loss and one sack on the day.
Sadly, he is still struggling with his overall consistency, which is an even bigger problem with Arden Key not making an impact and failing to record a single tackle on the day.
Landry’s production will at least give the group a slight boost, but you know it’s bad when a C- is one of the better marks given on this side of the ball.
Cornerbacks: D
Sean Murphy-Bunting has mostly been a pleasant surprise this season.
However, the rest of the group is a liability more often than not, especially when it comes to giving up the big play. Kristian Fulton was even benched at one point in favor of Tre Avery.
With all of that said, Murphy-Bunting had a crucial interception that at least gave this team hope at one point. That helps avoid the “F”.
Safeties: C-
Titans safeties Kevin Byard and Amani Hooker continue to be some of the most consistent tacklers on the team, tallying a combined 18 tackles between the two of them.
But their impact in the passing game has hardly been felt for the majority of the season, including in Week 6. Hooker even had an uncharacteristic penalty that ended up extending a Ravens drive.
While it’s hard to say Byard and Hooker are one of the biggest weaknesses on the team, they certainly aren’t playing like the kind of special safety tandem that many felt they were capable of being.
Specialists: B-
You know it was a bad day at the office when the only group that has consistently received high marks throughout the year ended up receiving something other than an “A” on Sunday.
Nick Folk and Morgan Cox continue to be some of the best players on the team, but Ryan Stonehouse did have a low moment where he out-kicked his coverage, subsequently leading to a big return by the Ravens.
