Tennessee Titans: Instant analysis of Week 6 loss to Denver Broncos

The instant analysis of the Tennessee Titans’ Week 6 loss to the Denver Broncos is not pretty.

We are officially at rock bottom, as the Tennessee Titans got shutout and lost 16-0 to the Denver Broncos in Week 6.

This offense is putrid, plain and simple, but we’ll talk about that more shortly. If I was the Titans defense, I’d be on the verge of a mutiny at this point. That group deserves so much better than what this offense is putting out every week.

Let’s suffer through this together, shall we?

Offense

-The offensive line had another bad game. The Broncos, who had five sacks in total through the first five games, notched seven sacks against the Titans in Week 6. Rodger Saffold isn’t getting any better and Nate Davis was getting bulldozed. Tennessee should consider giving Kevin Pamphile a look next week after he was inactive against Denver. At this point, I’m willing to try anything, especially if it includes sitting Saffold.

-Adding to the offensive line woes, the group upfront simply isn’t opening up holes for Derrick Henry. On a team that is already having issues throwing the football, not being able to run it is making things even worse.

–Marcus Mariota was bad in this game. Yes, the O-line let him down again at times, but when Mariota did have time to throw, he missed multiple easy throws and abandoned the pocket on a few occasions when it simply wasn’t necessary to do so. He also threw two terrible picks. The Titans needed to make a change, and they did just that.

–Ryan Tannehill didn’t have a ton of success overall, but he did look better than Mariota. While we shouldn’t be pointing to this as a shining achievements, he was actually able to get the Titans past the 50-yard line twice. Tannehill was more accurate and decisive, and he showed better pocket presence. One negative: He threw a pick at the end of the game.

-One of the issues nobody is talking about much is the fact that Tennessee’s receivers simply aren’t getting open, regardless of who is behind center. Chalk it up to bad route-running, bad play design, or whatever, but both Mariota and Tannehill took sacks holding on to the ball too long because there was simply nowhere to throw it.

Defense

-There isn’t much to analyze here. The Titans defense remains the one constant this season and allowed just 16 points on Sunday. After six games, Tennessee’s defense has not allowed more than 20 points in a game. You simply cannot ask this group to do anymore than it has in 2019.

-I guess we can talk about the lack of pressure, as the defense totaled just one sack and two QB hits. Still, the defense did more than enough for the Titans to have an opportunity to win this game.

Coaching

-Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is a terrible play-caller. We have seen too many instances of him calling plays that lead to throws behind the line of scrimmage, no matter how many yards the Titans need for a first down. I’d also venture to guess his play designs have at least something to do with Titans receivers not getting open. Tennessee now has more negative plays than any other team in the NFL this season. Something has to give here, and I’m not against finding someone else to call the plays.

-Head coach Mike Vrabel gave offensive line coach Keith Carter a vote of confidence prior to this game, however that makes me question his judgement even more. This offensive line is not getting better by any stretch and it might be time to make a switch.

-Vrabel has got to be on the hot seat after this game, and it’s not just because of this game. In totality, Vrabel is having an awful season. At least he tried to do something different by replacing Mariota with Tannehill behind center, but that’s peanuts compared to what he’s done wrong in 2019.