Week 6 Results and Their Effect on the AFC South Playoff Race
By Max Dambach
Tennessee Titans
Week 6 Results: Beat the Colts 36-22
What it Means: Even though the Titans’ Week 6 victory came against one of the league’s worst rosters, defeating the Colts means so much more to this team than just another mark in the win column. After dropping 11 straight to a Colts roster that has been in dire straits for the past couple of years, the Titans faced a mental hurdle coming into Week 6. The Titans displayed a bad habit of playing down to their opponents in 2016, especially against their division foes. For this Titans team to be considered a true playoff contender, they must win the easy matchups like the ones in Week 6.
In Week 6, the Titans started sluggish yet again, but a clutch performance by kicker Ryan Succop, who set a record for must consecutive field goals under 50 yards, kept the team in the game until the adjustments at halftime allowed Tennessee to run away with this game. Mariota played despite a hamstring injury that kept him standing still in the pocket throughout the game. Without his legs, Mariota was forced to pick apart the Colts defense with only his arm. Mariota delivered crisp, on-target throws all over the field and hit his windows with anticipation. Mariota’s importance to the Tennessee offense can not be questioned now after the offense sputtered under Matt Cassel at 100% before taking off with Mariota at around 70%.
The running game also impressed, with Derrick Henry’s first 100-yard game punctuated by a long touchdown run to put the game on ice. On defense, the team struggled to take down Jacoby Brissett, but limited T.Y. Hilton throughout the game and shut down the entire Indianapolis offense in the second half. The Titans could have started out a little faster, but all in all, the Titans performed well in all phases of the game.
What’s Next: The Titans face a Browns team that heads into Week 7 winless. The Browns are one of two winless teams, but unlike the 49ers, the Browns haven’t been able to consistently keep their games close. Cleveland starts rookie quarterback Deshone Kizer after an ill-advised start by Kevin Hogan. Now a quarterback who had already been performing poorly has had his confidence shattered by his coaching staff will be taking on a Titans secondary eager to build on their impressive Week 6 performance. The Titans should serve Cleveland yet another loss in yet another lost season.