The Tennessee Titans continued their downward spiral in Week 10 with a depressing 20-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.
The loss was a result of a failure in all three phases. Even the normally reliable Nick Folk missed a field goal, although that wasn’t a factor in Tennessee’s loss.
The real issues came down to the trenches, where the Titans lost the battle on both sides of the ball. The offensive line was dominated by Tampa’s front and the Titans couldn’t generate enough pressure to bail the secondary out.
With the loss, the Titans are now 0-6 away from Nissan Stadium this season and haven’t won a road game in a full calendar year. Further, Tennessee is now 3-13 since that win.
As you’d expect, there really weren’t any winners to speak of after such a dismal showing, although we did manage to pull one out of our hat.
Loser: The offensive line
Will Levis had his worst game as a pro in Week 10, but it’s kind of hard to succeed when constantly under pressure due to awful pass protection across the line. Tampa’s defense generated an astounding 13 QB hits and four sacks after coming into this contest with just 21 sacks over the first eight games.
Adding to that, the lack of a run game because of equally bad run-blocking further put the rookie signal-caller at a disadvantage.
We can only hope Levis makes it out of 2023 in one piece.
Loser: The defense
It was the same old story on Sunday: Tennessee’s pass-rush couldn’t generate consistent pressure and the secondary couldn’t stop a nosebleed, leading to a handful of big plays throughout the game. The run defense was better but it didn’t do anything to impact the outcome.
Loser: The coaching staff
It’s clear the Titans are lacking talent, which leads to poor execution. However, the coaching staff deserves some blame, also.
Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen has been unable to generate pressure if his front four isn’t dominating. Offensive coordinator Tim Kelly’s play calls have been predictable, overly conservative and overall bad lately, and he’s doing nothing to help out Levis and the offensive line.
We should also point out head coach Mike Vrabel’s decisions on fourth downs continue to be questionable and too conservative.
This is a coaching staff that is operating out of fear rather than confidence and that has made Tennessee’s already ugly brand of football even worse.
Winner: WR Kyle Philips
We’re scraping the bottom of the barrel here but it’s fair to point out another strong game from Philips, who has now surpassed 60 yards and led the Titans in receiving in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
Philips, whose stock felt dead just weeks ago, has now emerged as one of Levis’ preferred targets.
