The Tennessee Titans did just about what we expected them to do and lost to the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, 27-13 — but in that loss, there was a glimmer of hope.
The score is a bit misleading. The Titans actually played the Cowboys tough for three quarters before the wheels came off in the fourth. It was a much better effort than anyone expected, that’s for sure.
The aforementioned glimmer of hope came from the — dare I say — quarterback position, where Joshua Dobbs was a pleasant surprise.
Dobbs ran the offense effectively and was clearly an upgrade over Malik Willis. He wasn’t perfect by any stretch, but he was certainly better than anything the Titans have seen from Willis — and he did it against one of the better defenses in the NFL.
And, now the Titans have at least some momentum going into a do-or-die Week 18 game.
As for the rest of the game, the Cowboys basically were sleeping walking through a win in a game in which they were clearly the more talented team, as evidenced by their ability to overcome three turnovers.
Now, everything else we know from Week 17.
Final score: Cowboys 27, Titans 13
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| DAL | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 27 |
| TEN | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
It was over when...
Dalton Schultz secured a touchdown catch at the beginning of the fourth quarter to give the Cowboys a 24-13 lead. Despite Dobbs operating the offense better, there was little hope the Titans could overcome that deficit.
Titans' top performers
S Kevin Byard: 6 tackles (4 solo), 2 INTs, 2 PD
DL Teair Tart: 6 tackles (2 solo), 0.5 sacks, 2 QB hits
QB Josh Dobbs: 20-39, 232 yards, TD, INT; 3 carries, 12 yards, FL
WR Treylon Burks: 4 catches, 66 yards; 1 carry, 20 yards
Instant analysis
-There is no question that Dobbs should be the Titans’ starter in Week 18. He was a clear upgrade over Malik Willis with his decisiveness and accuracy and easily gives Tennessee the best chance to win.
-That said, he has to do a better job of taking care of the football moving forward after committing a pair of turnovers. Dobbs could’ve had at least two more, also, but got lucky.
-Unfortunately, Dobbs’ receivers did him zero favors or else he would’ve had an even better game. Titans receivers dropped a handful of passes, including multiple on key third downs. Robert Woods, Austin Hooper and Treylon Burks were among the culprits.
-Tennessee’s patchwork offensive line did a solid job in pass protection, but it also helped that Todd Downing called a good game in terms of getting the ball out quickly.
-Speaking of Downing: on top of helping Dobbs get the ball out quicker, he also had the signal-caller utilizing bootlegs, where he made some of his best throws. It wasn’t a perfect game for Downing, but certainly one of his better ones.
-Tennessee’s defense held its own for the most part until late in the game and even came up with three turnovers, two of which came from Kevin Byard, who stepped up just like a leader does to give his team a chance.
-Penalties were absolutely brutal for the Titans, who have been a very undisciplined team all season long. There were no doubt some bad calls and the Titans got the worst of it between the two teams but there were also some boneheaded penalties, with Tre Avery’s 51-yard pass interference being the prime example. Roger McCreary added a pair, and one of the Cowboys’ scoring drives were aided by both corners’ DPIs. In total, the Titans had 10 penalties for 124 yards.
-Burks had a bad drop in this game, but man was he explosive. The Titans had five plays of 20-plus yards and Burks was responsible for three of them. If not for the drop, he would’ve had a fourth.
Injuries
S Andrew Adams (knee): Adams suffered the injury while trying to defend Dalton Schultz’s touchdown catch. He was ruled out almost immediately and according to Jordan Schultz of The Score, it’s a serious injury.
DL Teair Tart (leg): Tart was shaken up in the fourth quarter. He looked to be fine after walking off under his own power.
OLB Tarell Basham (knee): Basham was clutching his knee after a play in the fourth quarter and did not return.
What's next?
Despite the loss, the Titans have accomplished perhaps the most important goal of this game: gaining some momentum ahead of a do-or-die Week 18 game against the Jaguars.
With a ton of key players set to return next week, and with the energizing force that Dobbs provides to a locker room that needs one, the Titans roll into the season finale with a lot more confidence than they had going into this game.
Going into Jacksonville as an underdog and beating the Jags for the division when nobody expects them to? Sign me up, draft position be absolutely damned.
