What went right, what went wrong for the Titans vs. Chargers in Week 10

The Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Chargers renewed acquaintances for the third consecutive year on Sunday. They met at SoFi Stadium for the second time in three seasons. For the second time this year, the Titans had an opportunity to win back-to-back games for the first time since Weeks 10 and 11 in 2022.

Quarterback Will Levis was back in the starting lineup for Brian Callahan's team, and the club owned an early lead on the road. That edge didn’t last very long. The Bolts came roaring back and handed the Titans a 27-17 setback in a game that was a bit more lopsided than the final score indicated.

Another disappointing outing for the Titans

What went right: A season first

Levis came into the game having completed 66.4 percent of his throws for 699 yards, five scores and seven picks. He also lost all three of his fumbles, giving him twice as many turnovers (10) as TD tosses (5) in his five outings. The second-year pro had given up the ball at least once in each of those contests. In fact, as a team, Callahan’s club had committed at least one turnover in each of their first eight games.

For the first time in 2024, the Titans played a turnover-free game. Levis enjoyed a solid showing, hitting on 18-of-23 passes for 175 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He did put the ball on the ground, but rookie left tackle JC Latham came up with the recovery. He also managed 41 yards rushing on five attempts. The Titans accumulated only 289 yards of total offense, but this was a somewhat-promising performance by Levis.

What went wrong: What pass protection?

The Titans ran 51 offensive plays, 21 rushing while totaling 30 pass plays. As previously mentioned, Levis threw for 175 yards, but Tennessee finished with 157 net yards passing. That’s because the Los Angeles pass rush had its way with the Titans’ offensive front. Levis was sacked seven times, and the Chargers finished with nine quarterback hits. The seven sacks allowed was the second-most allowed by Tennessee this season. In the Week 3 home loss to Green Bay, Levis was sacked eight times for a whopping 56 yards.

The team has allowed a total of 28 sacks in nine contests, two QB traps in the wins over the Dolphins and Patriots, and a combined 26 sacks in seven losses. Be it Levis (22) or Mason Rudolph (6), the Titans’ offensive line remains a work in progress. However, Levis’ pocket presence bears a lot of scrutiny as well.

What went right: Calvin Ridley’s resurgence continues

To date, general manager Ran Carthon and the organization has not gotten a lot of bang for their bucks when it came to signing the former first-round draft choice of the Atlanta Falcons. To be fair, talented wide receiver Calvin Ridley has played with two different starting quarterbacks this season. He entered Sunday’s game with 27 catches, good for 399 yards and one touchdown reception (as well as a TD run).

In the loss to the Bolts, Levis found Ridley for a 41-yard score with 4:25 remaining in the first quarter to give the Titans a 7-3 lead. The talented wideout was targeted a game-high nine times and finished with five receptions for 84 yards and a pair of TD grabs. That raised his season numbers to 32 catches for 483 yards and three scores. In his last three games, Ridley has 20 receptions for 300 yards and two TDs.

What went wrong: Absence of a pass rush

Jim Harbaugh’s club ran 57 offensive plays on Sunday, totaling a so-so 309 total yards. However, it’s worth pointing out that the Chargers finished with more than twice as many running plays (39) as passing plays (18). Obviously, that did not present coordinator Dennard Wilson’s defensive unit to get after quarterback Justin Herbert. Hence, for the second time this season, Titans’ defenders failed to come up with a sack.

What was disappointing about this outing was the fact that in there previous two games, the lopsided loss at Detroit and the overtime win over the Patriots, Tennessee’s pass rush produced four sacks in each of those contests. Underrated edge-rusher Arden Key had a combined three quarterback traps in those two outings, and the seven-year pro entered Sunday’s clash with at least one sack in three straight contests.

What went wrong: Zero opportunities

Once again, Tennessee entered the week ranked as the league’s top-ranked defense in terms of fewest total yards (269.1) and fewest passing yards (155.8) allowed per game. The Chargers did come up with 309 yards of offense. It marked just the third time in as many games that the Titans gave up at least 300 yards of total offense. Los Angeles’ relentless ground game frustrated Tennessee defenders all afternoon.

However, there’s no reason to bury the lead. Once again, the Titans failed to come up with a takeaway. It marked the fifth time in nine contests that Callahan’s club failed to force a turnover. Tennessee has only six takeaways during their 2-7 start, and three of those came in last Sunday’s overtime victory against the Patriots. This is not a recent issue. The Titans have totaled a mere 20 takeaways in their last 26 contests.