3 observations from the Titans Week 9 win over the Chicago Bears.
On Sunday, the Titans ended their two-game skid with an emphatic win over the Chicago Bears.
The final score was 24-17, but that score is not indicative of how well the Titans played, specifically on defense. I wrote about just how abysmal the Titans third-down defense has been all year, and thankfully the team responded in Week 9 against the Bears.
The Bears’ offense is by no means a dynamic unit, but still, it was an encouraging sign to see the Titans’ defense step up and not be a liability.
After looking mediocre in a loss to the downtrodden Bengals in Week 8, Mike Vrabel and co. needed a bounce-back game. The Bears entered the weekend in 2nd place in the NFC North with a 5-3 record, so this was the perfect game for the Titans to re-assert themselves as contenders.
With contributions from many key players, including new addition Desmond King, the Titans earned a much-needed win. Next up, the Titans prepare for a crucial division matchup on Thursday Night Football with the Indianapolis Colts.
Let’s dive into 3 observations from Tennessee’s Week 8 win.
3. The Offense is Struggling
If I told you that Derrick Henry was held scoreless and Ryan Tannehill only completed 10 passes, you would probably assume the Titans got absolutely blown out in Week 9.
Luckily, that was not the case, thanks to a stellar defensive performance. In 2020, the Titans have, surprisingly, been a team carried by offense. In 8 games, the Titans offense has scored less than 30 points, four times. They are 2-2 in those games. When the team scores more than 30 points? 4-0.
Fortunately, the Tennessee defense was able to pick up the slack for the offense against the Bears. While they only mustered 24 points, the Bears were held scoreless until the 4th quarter. It was an admirable performance, considering the Titans’ defense was not getting much help. Ryan Tannehill had a rare lackluster performance, only collecting 158 passing yards to go with his 10 completions.
Corey Davis shockingly was held without a catch, unable to connect with Tannehill on 3 targets. As I mentioned earlier, Henry was also held out of the end-zone. This was all around an uncharacteristically bad performance from a consistently decent Titan offense. Granted, the Bears defense is top-tier, but hopefully, this is not a trend.
2. A Much-Improved 3rd Down Defense
In Week 8, Tennessee had a historically bad performance on 3rd downs, allowing Joe Burrow and the Bengals’ to go 10-of-15.
Unfortunately, that performance wasn’t just an aberration. The Titans have had a miserable 3rd-down defense all season, and fans and players alike were hoping for that trend to cease against the Bears. Well, the Titans answered the bell. The Bears finished the game going 2-of-15 on 3rd down, a miserable mark, and essentially the inverse of all of those games that Tennessee had lost or struggled in.
This was a welcomed sight, as fans have grown accustomed to seeing Tennessee frequently allowing teams to convert 3rd-and-longs. Whether it be a testament to the awfulness of the Bears’ offense or improvement from the Titans defense, hopefully, this performance can continue.
It is nearly impossible to consistently win in this league if you can’t get off the field on 3rd downs. Luckily, Tennessee’s defense was able to do exactly that on Sunday, and it no doubt led to a win. When the Titans offense struggled to get going, the defense getting off the field kept the team in the game.
1. Pass Rush showing life once again
Man, I almost forgot what it was like to see a pass-rush from the Titans defense.
After somehow not managing to get a single sack against a porous Bengals’ o-line, the Titans defense responded in a big way, finishing with 3 sacks on the day. Harold Landry III, Jayon brown, Rashaan Evans, and DaQuan Jones all got in on the sack action.
Not only did Tennessee collect a few sacks, but Nick Foles was CONSTANTLY under pressure. Multiple times throughout the day, Foles was rushed and forced to throw the ball before he intended to. The effectiveness of the pass rush was a huge reason why the Titans were consistently able to get off the field on 3rd downs.
And the best part? Tennessee was able to accomplish this without Jadeveon Clowney, who missed the game due to injury. While I don’t believe that Clowney was holding the team back, the pass-rushers did have their best game of the season without him. This is most likely a testament to the awfulness of the Bears’ patchwork offensive line, but still an interesting note.
With games against the Colts and Ravens up next, we’ll see if this pass-rush is for real, or if this performance was just an outlier against a terrible offensive line. Regardless, still, a positive that the Titans were able to add to their anemic sack numbers.