Staring down the barrel of an 0-3 start, the Tennessee Titans faced a must-win situation against the Las Vegas Raiders in Nashville on Sunday.
Titans fans have been used to their team stepping up and winning when its back is against the wall the last few years, but nobody knew what to expect after what we saw from Tennessee over the first two games.
What fans got was a glimpse of the offense we had seen in 2019 and 2020 in the first half, and them more of the same 2022 Titans in the second half.
Thankfully, the defense did just enough to overcome a no-show effort from the offense in the second half and helped secure a 24-22 win for the Titans, which also helped get Tennessee out of the cellar in the AFC South.
The Titans’ Jekyll and Hyde performance is just one of seven takeaways from the team’s Week 3 victory over the Raiders.
Another poor second half
The Titans got off to a hot start in Week 3 after scoring a touchdown on their first three drives and going into halftime with a 24-10 lead, but much like we had seen over the first two games, Tennessee went quiet in the second half, allowing the Raiders to climb back into the game.
A big issue was the Titans getting too conservative and seemingly playing not to lose the game. Offensive coordinator Todd Downing must keep his foot on the pedal moving forward, and Ryan Tannehill needs to be play better, too.
The Titans have now failed to score a single second-half point in each of their last two games, and the team has been outscored 57-7 in the second half over three games this season.
It’s cliche and sounds simple enough, but the Titans must do a better job of putting together a full 60 minutes on both sides of the ball.
Big improvement from the offensive line
After what we saw from the offensive line in Week 2, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t expecting the worst ahead of a matchup against a pass-rush duo like Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones without Taylor Lewan on the field.
However, the group upfront pleasantly surprised me.
The Raiders’ pass-rush duo had just one sack, which didn’t come until the fourth quarter, and we have solid showings from Nicholas Petit-Frere and Dennis Daley to thank for that. It also helped that Downing adjusted and made sure Tannehill got rid of the ball quicker.
Run-blocking was much better, also, as Derrick Henry tallied a season-high 85 yards and 4.3 yards per carry. Certainly not earth-shattering numbers and Henry is still getting hit at or behind the line of scrimmage too much, but how can you not be encouraged by the totality of the offensive line’s performance after what we saw the first two weeks?
Defense comes up big
Tennessee’s defense wasn’t great by any stretch, but its bend-but-don’t-break effort got the job done thanks to some huge plays in big spots.
The Titans held the Raiders to just 2-of-6 in the red zone and an astounding 1-of-12 on third downs. Also, Kevin Byard’s pick in the end zone late in the fourth quarter and Dylan Cole’s pass break-up on the Raiders’ two-point attempt to tie the game were vital to Tennessee’s win.
Byard, Roger McCreary and Kristian Fulton all left their fingerprints on this game in the secondary and were able to limit two elite players like Davante Adams and Darren Waller to eight catches for 58 yards and one score. Rashad Weaver shined in the pass-rush, also.
Granted, chunk plays, shoddy run defense and making Mack Hollins look like a Hall of Famer were certainly negatives, but the defense made plays when it had to and was good overall despite missing some very key pieces.
Ryan Stonehouse on historic pace
The Titans appear to have a rock star at punter in Ryan Stonehouse, who is on pace for a historic season.
Stonehouse had punts of 70, 57, and 54 yards in Week 3, with two of them landing inside the 20, pinning the Raiders deep. The rookie averaged 60.3 yards per punt in all, bringing his season average UP to an NFL-best 57.1 yards.
Stonehouse is the first punter in NFL history to average 55 yards or more per punt three games in a row (minimum two punts per game). And, his current average of 57.1 yards is nearly six yards higher than the NFL single-season record set by Washington great Sammy Baugh (51.4 in 1940).
The jury hasn’t turned in its verdict yet on Stonehouse’s ability to consistently trap opponents with the old “coffin corner” punts, but he has been better than anyone could have hoped for and the Titans are on the verge of going from a legend in Brett Kern to another potential great in Stonehouse.
There is hope yet at OLB
With the Titans missing Harold Landry, Bud Dupree and Ola Adeniyi, Rashad Weaver stepped up again in Week 3.
The Pittsburgh product looked good and was clearly a problem for Las Vegas, tallying multiple pressures and finishing with one sack and two QB hits. His three sacks on the season are tops on the Titans.
Weaver will continue to get plenty of opportunities this season with Landry out and could flirt with double-digit sacks. His play becomes even more important if Dupree continues to have health issues.
And, looking further ahead, he could make the oft-injured Bud Dupree expendable in 2023.
Bobby Trees heating up
Other than the offense coming alive for a half and Derrick Henry actually being able to run the football, another encouraging thing coming from the offense in Week 3 was the performance of Robert Woods.
Not only did Woods look good en route to four catches for a team-high 85 yards that included a 41-yard grab, but he had a whopping nine targets from Tannehill, showing that the connection between those two is strengthening.
We’ve seen flashes from Kyle Philips, Treylon Burks and now Robert Woods over the first three games, giving us hope that good things are ahead for this passing attack in 2022.
The good, bad and ugly from the secondary
Terrance Mitchell got snaps over Caleb Farley on Sunday and there are several reasons why that is significant and bad.
For starters, Mitchell was on the team for half a week after being signed off the New England Patriots’ practice squad. Also, he was downright bad Week 3, which makes one wonder just how low the Titans think of Farley.
Right now, the Titans have a major swing and miss on their hands with the 2021 first-round pick. Again, there’s still time for things to change but we haven’t seen any indication that’s happening.
Now, on the other side of the spectrum we have Roger McCreary and Kristian Fulton, both of whom shined in Week 3.
The pair of starting corners were sticky in coverage, broke up passes and made some impressive tackles, with Fulton especially shining in that area early in the game.
It’s blatantly obvious how much better this defense is with Fulton on the field, and the rookie from Auburn is looking the part of a player who can become special for this team. This duo has elite potential.
