The Tennessee Titans entered Week 3 of the preseason looking for redemption after dropping last week’s game to the New England Patriots, 22-17 in Nissan Stadium.
The team never even came close to achieving that goal at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers, falling 18-6 in what was a less-than-impressive dress rehearsal game.
The Titans’ final preseason contest will take place Aug. 29 against the Chicago Bears. The Titans will trim down to their final 53-man roster by Aug. 31.
Here’s a look at what went well, and what went just plain awry on Sunday evening.
The Good.
• Marcus Mariota drew the defense offsides on his first play.
• The defense gave Big Ben several different looks, leaving the veteran looking confused several times.
• The first team defense also had several young players in action. LeShuan Sims, Dane Cruikshank, Amani Hooker, and Joshua Kalu mixed in with the first-team defense.
• We got to see a glimpse of the same return ability from last year out of Darius Jennings. He returned a kickoff to the 49-yard line.
• Amani Hooker was known as a ball hawk in college, and he snatched his first NFL interception on a miscommunication from Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph. Cornerback Mike Jordan also came up with an interception late in the second half.
• Kicker Ryan Succop made his return after returning from the PUP list.
The Bad.
• The offensive line had no answers for the Steelers defensive linemen. They allowed 3 sacks in the first half, one of which went for a safety. In total, the O-line allowed seven sacks as all three Titans quarterbacks got a solid look at the turf in Nissan Stadium.
• The Titans front seven struggled to bring consistent pressure on the second team, which lead to a 41-yard touchdown bomb from Mason Rudolph to James Washington.
The Ugly.
• After the safety, Mariota made an early exit due to lack of protection. Tannehill and McNichols then entered the game with the starting offensive line and wide receivers.
• There were a lot of catchable balls dropped by receivers on both sides. This is certainly a kink the Titans will have to work out ahead of the regular season.
• Adam Humphries bobbled and dropped a wide open screen pass that could have went for a big gain.
