Dec 17, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker (10) throws his towel into the crowd after a game against the New York Jets at LP Field. The Titans beat the Jets 14-10. Mandatory credit: Don McPeak-US TODAY Sports
The Tennessee Titans didn’t earn their win last night on Monday Night Football, they were gifted it. The New York Jets were far from stellar, but poor punting and an ineffective offense made the Titans look terrible last night.
Jake Locker was a mixture of hot and cold, though to be fair, he was playing against one of the best defenses in the league. While he didn’t throw any interceptions, he also didn’t throw any touchdowns. He did run for one, on a great designed run. Looking at the stats, he completed 59.1% of his passes (13 of 22) for 149 yards. Some of those misses were rough though. At one point Lavelle Hawkins was wide open in the Jets secondary and Locker missed him. It was even more painful that it came on a 3rd down.
Chris Johnson has a history of struggling against the Jets, and he kept with tradition, that is if you erase his 94 yard touchdown run. He ended the night with 1 TD and 122 yards on 22 carries. Johnson’s big run was his 3rd run of 80+ yards this season and 6th of his career, breaking the record that he owns, as he has been doing all season. Hopefully that spills over into next season as well.
The Jets were their own worst enemies, specifically their coaching staff. Every time Sanchez and the offense seemed to find rhythm, he would be pulled and Tebow would be put in. They should have won the game, despite the fact that they gave up four interceptions and fumbled twice. Their defense choked out the Titans offense all game, with only momentary lapses.
The Titans defense had a good game, collecting 4 sacks, along with all their interceptions. Both CB Jason McCourty and FS Michael Griffin picked off Mark Sanchez twice. The biggest weakness they showed was at MLB, where Colin McCarthy’s presence was greatly missed.
Overall, the game wasn’t a great one. Both teams seemed to be trying to give the other team the game. A couple botched punts by Titans’ punter Brett Kern and a slew of Sanchez interceptions pretty much tells the tale.
On a final rough note, the Titans rookie WR Kendall Wright appears to have cracked some ribs during the game… And the Titans have moved back in the draft.
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