It was start-over time in Nashville. Mike Vrabel was out as the Tennessee Titans’ head coach, and enter former Bengals assistant Brian Callahan. He inherited a club that finished 6-11, the only team in the AFC South with a losing record a season ago.
The Titans dropped their first three games, the first two after squandering first-half leads. However, the club bounced back on a Monday night at Miami in Week 4 and came away with a 31-12 win over the Dolphins. Callahan’s club returns to action this week and faces its first divisional foe of the season when they host the Colts.
What grade has the Titans earned so far in 2024?
Offense
Only the Browns and Patriots have gained fewer total yards than the Titans. Coordinator Nick Holz’s offense has produced just as many rushing TDs (4) as scores through the air (4). Callahan’s club is ranked 29th in passing yards per outing, some of that the result of the club allowing 16 sacks. Will Levis has thrown for four scores, been picked off six times (2 returned for scores) and lost all three of his fumbles.
General manager Ran Carthon added a lot of offensive firepower this offseason via running back Tony Pollard, and wideouts Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd. Pollard leads the team in rushing yards (246) and receptions (13). Levis’ mistakes and an iffy offensive line has led to a disappointing start for this unit.
Defense
You could certainly say that the Tennessee defense has held up its end of the bargain after four games. The new coordinator is Dennard Wilson, and entering this week the club has allowed an NFL-low 256.3 yards per game. Don’t be fooled by the fact that the Titans have allowed 22.5 points per contest. All told, Wilson’s unit has allowed just six trips to the end zone—three on the ground and three through the air.
Former Pro Bowler Harold Landry III is off to a tremendous start. He’s totaled one sack in each of the club’s four games, but has almost half (4.0) of Tennessee’s nine quarterback traps. One disappointing aspect of Wilson’s unit has been the lack of takeaways (2), and the Titans have yet to intercept a pass.
Special Teams
This has certainly been an area of concern throughout the first four games of the season. Obviously, the biggest bright spot has been veteran placekicker Nick Folk. In his second season with the club, he’s hit on all seven field goal attempts. In 21 games with the Titans, he is an impressive 36-of-37 on three-pointers, and has actually missed more PATs (36-of-38) than field goal tries. He’s scored a team-high 29 points.
As for the rest of the kicking game, Ryan Stonehouse has a gross average of 49.4, tied for 10th in the NFL. He also had punts blocked in each of the first two games, the first returned for a touchdown in the loss to the Bears. There hasn’t been much spark from the return game, and the coverage units have been shaky.
Coaching
Callahan was the Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive coordinator for five years before joining the Titans. The team has been hamstrung on his side of the ball due in larger part to Levis’ turnover issues. However, he has showing great patience with the second-year pro. “I'm still a big advocate of learning by doing. There's no substitute for experience…You got to learn those lessons. That's how you get better, fast…”
What has gotten improved quickly has been the play of Wilson’s defense. The Titans entered Week 6 as the league’s stingiest defense in terms of total yards allowed and passing yards given up. The club has allowed only six offensive touchdowns in four games, despite the fact the team has only two takeaways.
Overview
The road win over the Dolphins was huge for a team that simply found ways to lose the first two games, and then were rolled by the visiting Packers. The Titans finally face a divisional foe this week, but then don’t play another AFC South rival until Week 12 when they travel to Houston to face the Texans. Two of the team’s three losses (Bears and Packers) are to NFC teams. They have only faced two conference foes.
If Levis can cut down on the mistakes, and Callahan can keep the team afloat over the next two weeks, the Titans are certainly capable of making a run in the AFC South, especially with five of their final seven games within the division. Tennessee was 1-5 vs. those rivals in 2023. It may be time to make amends.