Going into the Week 18 game against the Houston Texans, the Tennessee Titans’ run defense was the No. 2 unit in the NFL, and defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons made it very clear the team was gunning for No. 1.
“We take a lot of pride in stopping the run,” Simmons said. “To me, it needs to be said that we are chasing that No. 1 spot and Baltimore is in front of us right now, I think by about 16 yards. But we’re chasing that No. 1 spot to be the No. 1 run defense.”
Unfortunately, the defense just missed out on accomplishing that feat.
Despite holding the Texans to just 64 rushing yards and three yards per carry on Sunday, the Titans finished as the No. 2 run defense in the league by a measly two yards.
Tennessee allowed 1,438 rushing yards this season to the Baltimore Ravens’ 1,436. The Titans gave up an average of 84.6 rushing yards per contest, finishing second to the Ravens’ 84.5.
While having the No. 1 run defense in the NFL would have been a nice feather in Tennessee’s cap, the Titans did secure the most important No. 1 spot on Sunday, which was the top seed in the AFC, giving them a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the AFC portion of the postseason.
In all, Tennessee’s defense showed a vast improvement pretty much across the board, but especially so against the run and in the sacks department, where the Titans tallied 43, 24 more than they had in 2020.
Thanks to having the No. 1 seed, the defensive resurgence and the return of Derrick Henry, we believe the Titans have as good a shot as any to make a Super Bowl run.
