Tennessee Titans: What we learned from Week 7 win

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NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – OCTOBER 20: Jeffery Simmons #98 of the Tennessee Titans takes signs hats for fans before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Nissan Stadium on October 20, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /

2. Jeffery Simmons is a bad, bad man

I don’t know what was more impressive yesterday: the first start of Tannehill as a member of the Titans, or the NFL debut of the team’s 2019 first-round pick, Jeffery Simmons.

The Mississippi State product wasted no time in making an impact, as he totaled four tackles (two for loss) and one sack. He was consistently getting push against the Chargers’ offensive line, and he should only become more disruptive as time goes on, with the Titans likely to increase his snaps moving forward after understandably limiting him to 21 on Sunday.

Perhaps the biggest play of the game for Simmons didn’t show up on the stat sheet. On the Chargers’ final offensive play of the game that resulted in a Melvin Gordon fumble to seal the win for Tennessee, Simmons busted through the offensive line and forced Gordon to change his path, which might have saved the Titans from allowing the touchdown.

This screen grab shows how Jeffery Simmons impacted the last play. Look at how he blew up that RG and caused Melvin Gordon to redirect his path to the end zone. Wesley Woodyard swooped in & got the strip. Remarkable play by Simmons in his first football game since Jan 1. #Titans pic.twitter.com/QDHGD2uZRe
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) October 21, 2019

I knew the Titans were getting themselves an outstanding defender in Simmons, but I was awestruck at just how good and dominant he looked in his first game back after tearing his ACL eight months ago. Now we see why he was thought to be a top-five talent before his injury.

Simmons has steal written all over him and Jon Robinson deserves credit for taking the risk on him at the spot he did.

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