I meant to get this blog out after the game against the Denver Broncos last week, but I got behind. So in this iteration of Tennessee Sportsball Roundup, I’ll be covering the Titans’ performances in the first and second week of the NFL season.
Tennessee Titans 16 (1-0), Broncos 14 (0-1)
The Titans opened up their regular season with a road win against the Denver Broncos, who actually finished second in a very top-heavy AFC West division in 2019 despite a relative down-year.
Titans quarterback (QB) Ryan Tannehill played decently, going 29 for 43 with 249 yards and two touchdowns. Workhorse running back (RB) Derrick Henry had 31 carries for 116 yards.
Fourth-year wide receiver (WR) Corey Davis had 7 receptions for 101 yards, followed by WR Adam Humphries who had six receptions for 47 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, safety Kevin Byard led the squad with nine total tackles. Outside of that, the defense didn’t record any sacks or interceptions on the night.
This wasn’t the best performance ever for the Titans, but game one was made especially challenging due to kicking woes from future hall-of-famer Stephen Gostkowski, who the Titans acquired in the offseason.
Gostkowski only made one of four field goals on the night, which for any run-of-the-mill kicker would mean that their pink slip would be given the next day. However, the Titans allowed Gostkowski to kick the potential game-winning field goal in the final minutes of the game, which at the time was a huge gamble. Fortunately for the Titans and Gostkowski, the most important kick of the night made its way through the uprights to give Tennessee the win.
Thanks to Gostkowski’s redemption, the Titans scrapped out a close win over a beatable Broncos team that’s without star pass rusher, outside linebacker (OLB) Von Miller, who suffered a season-ending injury prior to Week 1.
While Denver didn’t have Miller, they did have ex-Titans defensive tackle (DT) Jurrell Casey, who spent nine seasons in Nashville before being traded away. This was expected to be his big revenge game, but outside of a few tackles, Casey was pretty silent.
Denver’s promising young QB Drew Lock had a decent game, going 22 for 33 for 216 yards and a touchdown. Other fellow young gun on the Broncos, tight end (TE) Noah Fant, had a solid game too, recording 81 yards on five receptions.
Tennessee Titans 33 (2-0), Jacksonville Jaguars 30 (1-1)
For the season opener in Nashville, the Titans faced off their divisional opponent in the Jacksonville Jaguars, who rolled into Week 2 after a surprising win against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1.
Tannehill strayed from the Titans’ offensive norm and actually carried the weight instead of over relying on Henry. At the end of the day, Tannehill went 18 for 24 and passed for four touchdowns and no interceptions. Tannehill wasn’t given a high amount of pass attempts, but his efficiency when he was given the reins was fantastic.
Henry, despite a high work volume, only had 84 yards over 25 carries. The Titans didn’t produce a single rushing touchdown, which to me signals that teams are starting to catch on as to how to limit Henry.
TE Jonnu Smith led the way for the receiving core, producing 84 yards on 4 receptions and two touchdowns.
Defensively, safety Kenny Vaccaro led the team with 11 total tackles and one sack. In addition, the defense produced two interceptions by cornerback (CB) Kristian Fulton and linebacker (LB) Harold Landry. Defensive end (DE) Jack Crawford produced the team’s only sack, though DE Jadaveon Clowney was very disruptive throughout the game.
Gostkowski’s kicking problems didn’t carry over to Week 2, as he hit both his field goal attempts and even hit a 51-yard field goal, scoring nine total points when all was said and done.
I’d also like to mention three-time Pro Bowl punter Brett Kern, who had 122 total yards with an average of 40.7 yards per punt. Three of his punts were within the 20.
Tennessee came out strong and held the league for most of the game, but late defensive problems allowed the Jags to tie the game at 30 each in the fourth.
Jacksonville’s Gardner Minshew, who’s my second-favorite QB in the league right now behind my boy Russell Wilson, balled out with 339 yards and three touchdowns. Unfortunately for Jacksonville, Mishew threw two interceptions, including a game-ending pick on the Jags’ final drive.
RB James Robinson tore up the Titans’ defense at the end, recording 102 yards on 16 carries.
Despite the fact that the Titans won both their games over the last two weeks, the small margins between the scores on both wins is concerning.
The Broncos weren’t expected to be an awful team, but Tennessee should’ve beat them convincingly instead of relying on a late field goal. This is likewise for Jacksonville, a team who was expected to tank this year.
Winning, at the end of the day, is all that matters. But I’d like to see some more lop-sided games in Titans’ favor in the future.
