Tennessee Titans vs. Oakland Raiders: the Good, the Bad & the Ugly
The Good, Bad, and Ugly from the Tennessee Titans’ Week 1 loss.
The Tennessee Titans fell to the Oakland Raiders 26-16 in Week 1. This was a fun matchup between two good teams. Although the Titans fell in this one, there were some bright spots. One thing that really stood out: come midseason, Marcus Mariota is going to be scary good! Here is this week’s edition of the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good
- The Titans’ rookies looked good in this one. In the first half, Derek Carr tried picking on Adoree’ Jackson. By the second half, Carr changed his mind and decided to pick on Brice McCain.
- Corey Davis also looked good. He caught six passes for 68 yards and continuously fought for extra yards.
- Although Jayon Brown didn’t jump off the screen, he had a nice game and was good in coverage.
Tennessee Titans
- Many fans were worried about Mariota during the preseason. After suffering a broken fibula in Week 16 of last season, Mariota looked uncomfortable and sailed balls over his receivers heads during the preseason. Fast forward to week one, Mariota did lack a little poise and sailed a few balls, but he looked good for the most part.
- Wesley Woodyard and Derrick Morgan recorded back-to-back sacks in the third quarter.
The Bad
- After a clean first half, the Titans’ second-half was marred by penalties. A running into the kicker penalty moved the Raiders into field goal range after they had punted the ball away.
- The Titans’ defense was very poor when it came to tackling. Raiders receivers racked up a lot of yards after the catch and the running backs accumulated a lot of yards after contact.
- The Titans came out flat to start the third quarter, being down 13-10 at that point.
- Ryan Succop missed a 52-yard field goal, which ended the Titans’ comeback chances late in the game.
The Ugly
- Jurrell Casey was steamrolled by Marshawn Lynch after the two-minute warning while the Raiders were trying to drain the clock.
- Eric Decker was basically nonexistent in this one.
- Taylor Lewan got beat by Khalil Mack, which resulted in DeMarco Murray being tackled in the backfield.
The Titans may not have came out on top in this one, but it was a fun game to watch. The Titans also showed a lot of promise. Corey Davis had a good game and never got to warm up in the preseason. When he gets hot, he’ll be scary. Adoree Jackson showed promise and got some much needed experience as well. Look out for a rematch between these two teams in the playoffs.