It’s time to take a look at which Tennessee Titans players got the nod for the team’s strongest and poorest performances in the Preseason opener, according to Pro Football Focus.
Following the Tennessee Titans’ 27-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Preseason opener, Pro Football Focus broke down the strong and poor performances from some of the team’s players.
Strong performances: Adam Humphries, Cody Hollister and Sharif Finch
Kicking off the strong performance side of things, PFF noted how it looks like the Titans are set to utilize slot receiver Adam Humphries quite often this season. Humphries caught all four of Mariota’s completions and helped convert two first downs. He finished with 24 yards.
PFF gave a big shoutout to fellow wide receiver Cody Hollister, who made two nice grabs and finished with four catches for 58 yards and a score.
"The first drive made it very clear new wideout Adam Humphries is someone the Titans have big plans for this season, but Cody Hollister stole the show. His sideline touchdown catch in the third quarter was pretty, but his catch on the sideline earlier in the quarter was incredible."
Also making the list of strong performances was linebacker Sharif Finch, who PFF dubbed as “a menace as a pass-rusher,” with multiple pressures and a tackle for loss.
"Edge defender Sharif Finch was a menace as a pass-rusher. The second-year player generated multiple quick pressures against Eagles right tackle Jordan Mailata. In addition, he also recorded a tackle for loss."
It was a strong showing for Finch, and the second-year pro could provide a boost off the bench in the pass-rush for the Titans in 2019.
Poor performances: Adoree’ Jackson and Corey Levin
Now, on to the poor performances.
While it was only one play and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson ended up finishing the game strong, he made PFF’s poor performances list after allowing a 75-yard scoring play that was the Eagles’ lone touchdown of the evening.
"A gamble by Adoree’ Jackson gave the Eagles their only touchdown of the night. Defending a deep post route with no inside help against Marken Michel, Jackson missed on a diving attempt to break up Sudfeld’s well-placed pass. That resulted in Michel waltzing an additional 39 yards into the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown."
Had Jackson just stayed on his feet, he might have been able to knock the pass down with his left arm. In the event that didn’t work, Jackson could have caught up to Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Marken Michel in order to make a tackle and prevent the score.
The Eagles did take some shots at Jackson later in the game, however he was able to get the job done and knock the pass attempts down. We won’t go too crazy over this play, but Jackson’s ability to prevent big plays will be something to monitor.
On the other side of the ball, offensive lineman Corey Levin didn’t have such a great night after struggling with snaps and protection, per PFF.
"Corey Levin had two bad snaps in a row after the Titans made the change to Logan Woodside so perhaps he can be slightly forgiven for the height disparity between Tannehill and Woodside. However, he then switched to LG where he struggled to protect Woodside after the new center was able to get him the snap."
There was some thought that Levin could challenge center Ben Jones for the starting job, but clearly he isn’t off to a great start. As of right now, we’d say Jones is very much the favorite to keep his position as this team’s No. 1 center.