The Tennessee Titans pulled off a dominant, 24-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to move them up in every network’s rankings.
The Touchdown Wire had the Titans ranked at No. 19 overall previously, and kept them there heading into Week 5.
“Ten days after he was sacked nine times by the Jaguars’ malevolent front seven and barely completed 50% of his passes, Marcus Mariota rebounded nicely to pick apart Atlanta’s vulnerable defense in a 24-10 win that put the Titans back at .500 for the season,” analyst Doug Farrar wrote.
“Second-round rookie A.J. Brown was the primary beneficiary of Mariota’s new-found efficiency, catching three passes for 94 yards and two of Mariota’s three touchdowns. Derrick Henry added a high-volume, 100-yard performance, and Tennessee’s defense sacked Matt Ryan five times, adding 12 quarterback hits. The Titans will hope that Mariota can stay above ground against the Bills next Sunday, but expecting any quarterback — especially one as inconsistent as Mariota has proven to be — to win against Buffalo’s amazing pass defense might be a fool’s errand.”
Farrar makes a fine point in his analysis. The Titans did have a good day on both fronts against the Falcons, but the contrast between that game and the previous one against the Jaguars highlighted the inconsistency.
It will be interesting to see if they can perform at the same level against Buffalo, and if Mariota will look like the same quarterback when he takes the field next.
The Titans and Bills are set to kick off at noon CT on Sunday in Nissan Stadium.
