Tennessee Titans: The good, the bad and the ugly – Week 3
Examining the Tennessee Titans’ Week 3 performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars, breaking down what went right and wrong.
Week 3 is here and gone, and your Tennessee Titans are the proud owners of a 2-1 record. Many people expected the Jacksonville Jaguars to run through the Titans with ease, but to their dismay and our enjoyment, the Titans took home the win in an ugly game in Jacksonville.
The Good
A Huge Win
No matter how anyone wants to spin this game, there is only one thing that matters: the Titans won. Not only is getting the win huge, but they did it against an AFC South opponent as well. No stat matters more than the victory that we can now add to the Titans’ win column.
Mariota Looked Better Than Gabbert
I feel like I don’t need to say this, but with some of the coverage in the Nashville area about the QB situation for the Titans, there was some worry that Mariota wasn’t the guy that everyone hoped he would be (and still could be). Now, I do need to temper myself with some real stats. Mariota threw for 100 yards and completed 12 out of 18 passes. These are not top-tier numbers at the QB position, but what we saw from Mariota goes much deeper than stats. He showed a better ability to escape the pocket, keep plays alive with his feet and deliver well-thrown balls on the run. The receivers’ ability to catch those balls is not on his shoulders, as we saw in this game, but Mariota showed that he can lead this Titans team to a victory. It was truly refreshing to see him play like he did.
Defense didn’t give up a touchdown on the road
Usually, facing Blake Bortles and the Jags, I feel I wouldn’t need to mention this (yes, a lot of shade has been thrown), but the Titans defense did not let the opposing offense — which just a week ago scored 31 points at home — score a touchdown. That is huge, and I’m going to give props to the secondary for bending but never breaking; even Malcolm Butler. Holding Bortles to only 155 yards over the air and starting wideouts to a combined 10 receptions with 87 yards, the secondary did their job and let’s hope they can keep that intensity for the entire season.
The Bad
The Offense Didn’t Score A Touchdown
So, you know that point I made about the Titans defense not letting a touchdown up? Well, unfortunately, the Jags defense did a pretty good job at as well. Expectations were there for the Jags defense and they delivered a no-touchdown game, so hats off to them, but this does not bode well for the Titans offense. I can’t put the blame on Mariota; the receivers were truly not helping him in the first half with a lot of drops. The Titans must start figuring it out on both sides of the ball. We can chalk this one up to they played one of the top defenses in the NFL for now.
The running game didn’t really get going
Another week has come and gone, and once again the running backs for the Tennessee Titans were very underwhelming. The starting backs combined for 83 yards on 27 carries, which is not where this running game should be at right now. The blame falls squarely on Derrick Henry’s shoulders (18 carries for 57 yards). He had the touches and still didn’t light the stat sheet up. I don’t want to berate Henry like I did Butler last week, but I will come at the King if he forces my hand. Once again, we can chalk this up to playing one of the top defenses, but that excuse only flies one more week and that’s it.
The Ugly
The entire game
Well, now for the ugly, and it couldn’t be any more obvious. The entire game was about as ugly as a game could be, with a final score of 9-6. Thank the lord the Titans won this game because had they not and the score was flipped, this team would have been given their death sentence. However, I do think we have to come to the realization that most Titan wins will be in an ugly fashion. Until the offense can prove they have found themselves, the Titans will have to rely on the leg of Ryan Succop to take them to victory.
All eyes now look towards the defending Super Bowl champs coming into Nissan Stadium for Week 4.