The Tennessee Titans’ nail-biting win against the Washington Commanders leaves the team with reasons for hope.
However, it was another tightly contested game that saps some of the joy away from their current three-game win streak.
The last three games have left me with heart palpitations and gray hairs as I am sure others can relate. The team’s nature to confidently jump out to leads followed by the slow and soul-crushing disintegration of their leads has left me both overjoyed and exhausted.
So let’s catalog the good, the bad, and the ugly from this Sunday’s game.
Good: The Tennessee Titans have King Henry
Henry looks like a threat to break off a huge run any day now, and any fear that lingered about his ability after the Jones fracture has been resolutely put to bed.
In addition, Henry is becoming a big part of the Tennessee Titans passing game which makes him just that much harder to guard against.
Good: Ryan Tannehill looks great despite the woes on the offensive line
Not only did Ryan Tannehill play fantastic against the Commanders, but he also did it while facing one of the best defensive fronts in the league right now. The Commanders managed to sack Tannehill 5 times and there were several close calls.
I am starting to wonder if Todd Downing is trying to Kill Ryan Tannehill by never drawing up quick throws for his quarterback.
Good: The defense is dominant up front.
This is one of the best groups in the league and they are missing two of their top guys, Harold Landry, and for the time being, Bud Dupree. This is a defensive line that will be constantly winning their match-ups all season no matter the opponent.
And if Teair Tart keeps leading the team in interceptions we might have to throw him in coverage and see if he can stop the deep ball better than Farley.
The Bad: The offense was, yet again, just okay enough.
On the whole, the offense has remained toothless outside of Derrick Henry’s strong running. While they have done enough in the last three games, they have been bailed out by the defense again.
Aside from their three TD drives, the Titans had a whopping 13 net yards on nine drives, with one of those drives going 16 yards. They've been held under 250 yards in two straight games and won both.
— R.J. White (@rjwhite1) October 9, 2022
Every person who covers the Tennessee Titans is absolutely sick and tired of talking about the 2nd half offense which remains inexplicably inert.
The Bad: The defense is still giving up big plays
Another game another chance for Caleb Farley to get torched by a C-tier receiver. Unfortunately for Farley, not only do Tennessee Titans fans know that he is not very good at covering but clearly opposing quarterbacks know too. I think it’s slim-to-none odds he gets another opportunity this year.
and finally…
The Ugly: The OL is a danger to the offense’s functionality, Tannehill’s health, and my mental well-being.
But seriously, the inability to pass protect is going to be the reason why the Tennessee Titans won’t get far in the playoffs. That statement would have seemed crazy three weeks ago, but their odds of making the postseason look much better now.
The only positive to take out of this is that the run blocking has generally been fine and has been improving despite the team still shuffling guys around. Adding Nate Davis back into the lineup will surely help after the bye week.