Tennessee Titans: Instant analysis of Week 14 win over Raiders
The Tennessee Titans won their fourth straight game and sixth out of their last seven with a 42-21 blowout victory over the Oakland Raiders in Week 14.
After a close first half, the Tennessee Titans (8-5) once again turned it on in the second half and blew the doors off the Oakland Raiders (6-7) in the final two quarters en route to a 42-21 win.
With Tennessee’s win and the Houston Texans’ loss, these two division rivals are set for a showdown in Week 15 that will determine who sits in first place in the AFC South after Week 15.
For the time being, Tennessee and Houston are tied atop the division record-wise, with Houston owning the tiebreaker.
The Titans are playing football on another level right now. Let’s get to the analysis.
Offense
-No, you are not dreaming and this is not a parallel universe. The Tennessee Titans have scored 30 points or more in four straight games and just compiled over 500 yards of total offense against the Raiders. What team is this?!
–Ryan Tannehill continues to impress with big numbers and elite accuracy. He completed 77 percent of his passes and was responsible for over 400 total yards (391 passing). The highlight of the game came during the second quarter when he connected with A.J. Brown on a 91-yard bomb that found pay dirt. The most impressive part of Tannehill’s game aside from the numbers was his willingness to hang in the pocket and take hits in order to make things happen. His only blemish was an early interception on a pass that was tipped. Tannehill is now 6-1 as a starter.
–Derrick Henry went for over 100 yards and scored twice. He was certainly effective in this game, but it’s clear he isn’t at 100 percent and isn’t running at full force. We had hoped the hamstring issue he was listed with on the injury report the last two weeks was just rest related, but he is definitely dealing with a legit injury.
–A.J. Brown is a rock star. His 91-yard touchdown reception showed his elite yards after catch ability, with Tannehill getting it to Brown 51 yards down the field and the rookie taking it the rest of the way while shedding a would-be tackler in the process. Brown’s 153 receiving yards was a career-high, and his two scores also matched his career-best mark.
-The Titans offensive line let up zero sacks. That’s right, ZERO! Tannehill did absorb some hits, but that was more a result of him taking extra time to find something down the field. Henry averaged nearly six yards per carry, so the excellent run blocking continues for the group upfront.
-For the first time in Titans/Oilers history, Tennessee had a 350-yard passer, a 100-yard rusher and a 150-yard receiver in the same game. Amazing how far we’ve come since the beginning of the season.
Defense
-It was a rocky start for this defense, and in particular the secondary. The Raiders went after Tye Smith early and blown coverage was responsible for one of the Raiders’ long touchdown passes. The secondary recovered later in the game, but the Titans have some concerns with an injury-depleted secondary that now includes Kenny Vaccaro who left early with a concussion.
-The second half was a much different story. The Titans made adjustments and were able to stop bleeding big plays to Oakland’s passing attack. Getting consistent pressure still remains an issue and Derek Carr had way too much time to throw throughout the game.
-The dagger in this game came when Tye Smith punched the ball out of the hands of Darren Waller, which was then scooped up by Jayon Brown for a defensive touchdown. The Raiders failed to score a single point in the second half.
Coaching
-Dean Pees is a master of second half adjustments. The Titans had a clear issue and the Pees made the right moves to fix it.
-So, the Titans have scored at least 30 points in three straight games and had over 500 yards of offense in Week 14. Are we going to start giving Arthur Smith credit, or is this just some Tannehill magic? I’m not ready to crown Smith just yet, but he does deserve to have the dogs called off of him for now.