Sep 23, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans running back Darius Reynaud (25) runs a kickoff back for a touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the second half at LP Field. The Titans beat the Lions 44-41 in overtime. Mandatory credit: Don McPeak-US PRESSWIRE
In a game that was a shock to everyone, myself included, the Tennessee Titans beat the Detroit Lions Sunday for their first win of the season. A wow, was it ever an amazing game. If you missed it, you have to be kicking yourself. It was truly a historical game.
But enough of talking it up. There’s plenty of time for that. Let’s get into the Good, Bad, and for this week, the Amazing:
The Good
- The Titans had a lot more success on offense and converted 5 of 12 3rd downs, a much improved number from last week.
- Britt showed that he was returning to his old self on the few plays the ball was thrown his way. Great to see that improvement from last week.
- OLB Akeem Ayers gets better every game. He has come a long way from last year. He did have a costly penalty at the end of the game that was half the reason the game got pushed into overtime, but before that he was solid in coverage and had the Titans only sack of the game.
- The defense kept the Lions out of the end zone and WR Calvin Johnson in check for the entire first half. More on this later.
The Bad
- The Titans still couldn’t find the run game, despite the fact that it looked like they’d get it going after the success in the first quarter.
- The Titans were only able to manage one sack, which came from a blitzing Ayers.
- Time of possession was still twice as much for the Lions as it was for the Titans. The Lions had it for 40 mins while the Titans had it for 27 mins. If this run game can’t get going, this defense is going to be the fittest in the league because of how long they end up on the field.
- The refs. This is getting out of hand. They have screwed up key calls in all three of the Titans game thus far, something that I never saw from regular refs. Everybody is entitled to their share of mistakes but this is just ridiculous. Time for owners to pony up and pay the people.
The Amazing
- Special teams. Holy @#$@. Alan Lowry should be the offensive coordinator with all the cool plays he comes up with for the special teams. Munchak has let him loose since he took over and it’s definitely paid off for the Titans special teams.
- Nate Washington. Who makes that catch? That was just ridiculous. This guy is such a hard player. Hard not to love such a good guy.
- Alterraun Verner. Holy awesome. That stripped touchdown was amazing. He was great in coverage all day and had an interception that would of ended the game as well, though Ayers penalty took the INT away, unfortunately. Finnegan, who?
- Jake Locker successfully shouldered offense and threw for nearly 400 yards, as well as 2 TD’s. He was still throwing some balls high but he came up with some big plays and kept the offense moving.
- Darius Reynaud’s 105 yard return. That’s a franchise record. Reynaud put the wheels on and thanks to a key block by TE Taylor Thompson and another good one by Tommie Campbell, he took it to the house right when the Titans needed it. From free agent nobody to that is pretty cool.
That was one of the craziest games ever seen. There’s definitely a lot of growing room left for the Titans but I finally saw the team I’ve spoken of this whole offseason, the one that can’t be stopped on offense.
There was a lot that happened that game and I may not have remembered it all in this article. If you remember something I missed, bring it up!
Once the Titans square away the run game, the sky is the limit.
You can find me on Twitter @JustinLStewart