On a crucial 3rd-and-10 with 2:58 remaining in their Week 1 game, the Tennessee Titans trailed 20-12 when their defense stopped the Denver Broncos with a one-yard loss to force a punt for an opportunity to tie the game. However, their best defensive player, Jeffery Simmons, delivered a late hit to Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. that resulted in a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty to give them an automatic first down.
That penalty was the exclamation point on the Titans' demise in that category, as it was their 13th accepted penalty of the game. For a team looking to improve upon last year's imperfections, it wasn't a good start in a winnable game that featured several coaching and player gaffes.
Titans head coach Brian Callahan emphasized the acronym S.I.N.S. (self-inflicted negatives) this offseason to improve the team's second-most penalties in the league ranking from last season. Despite his effort to improve an important component to winning in the NFL, the Titans lost 131 yards on penalties in their loss to the Broncos.
The Titans are already repeating their 2024 mistakes
The Titans are rebuilding, so eliminating bad habits won't happen overnight. However, their performance against the Broncos will be a lesson in the film room that will have the team kicking themselves for blowing an opportunity to beat a good Broncos team that was far from their best. It would have been a huge win to begin a new era with rookie quarterback Cam Ward.
On various offensive drives, the team found themselves in long yardage situations due to a variety of penalties, which doesn't bode well for a rookie quarterback in his first career game in a hostile road environment. Conversely, the defensive unit failed to get off the field on a couple of third-down stops because of deflating penalties of their own.
Sunday's game was just their first of 17 to play this season, so improvements can be made in the discipline department. But beginning a new season with that amount of disciplinary issues following a season as one of the worst in that department isn't a good sign of things to come for the Titans.