The Tennessee Titans let a game slip from their grasps today, as they lost to the Indianapolis Colts in a scorcher by a score of 19-17.
This game was full of missed opportunities and blown chances by the Tennessee Titans on both sides of the ball. A trend that has been going on for the Titan for a while when they go up against the Colts.
Marcus Mariota wasn’t very good today, going 19/28 for only 154 yards. He held on to the ball way too long at times, even making the Titans lose out on a shorter FG by taking a sack he shouldn’t have.
This has been an ongoing problem for Mariota and the Titans. Taking sacks, exposing potential injury to himself, and taking away chances for an improved WR core to make plays. Now as you all know, he’s in a position where if he doesn’t put it together on the field, he’s going to be out of the door in Tennessee.
Today’s performance didn’t help his early chances of staying here beyond 2019. He missed throws a franchise QB is supposed to make and was one of the reasons the Titans offense stalled in the 2nd half. That can’t continue to happen if the Titans want to even contend for an AFC South title this year.
We’ve talked about Mariota and his meh play too many times for a franchise QB. He needs to turn it around and turn it around fast.
Delanie Walker was the only notable pass catcher to stand out today. He carried the Titans offense in the 1st half, extending drives that the Titans had no business continuing. He totaled 3 catches for 35 yards in the first half, but disappeared in the second half. The reason for that.
Well you could look to the other pass catchers.
Corey Davis was once again quiet today. He caught 3 passes for 38 yards, but the bulk of his yardage came on an explosive catch on the Titans’ 1st drive of the second half. He can’t fade out of games like this, especially considering the talent he has.
There were plenty times Davis had a 1v1 with a singe high safety over the top. Not one singe shot was taken to take advantage of the talent Davis has. This offense has had a problem with generating explosive plays, and even though Mike Vrabel and Marcus Mariota have talked about getting more of them, they just haven’t happened for this team.
Davis wasn’t the only one who was seemingly invisible during the game either. Newly signed WR Adam Humphries didn’t make an impact for the 2nd straight game. Now of course it’s early, and there’s plenty time for this offense to get going with these 2 talented WRs, but to see these 2 not make an impact early on I imagine is pretty frustrating for Vrabel and this coaching staff.
Even after the game, Delanie Walker seemed pretty frustrated with the loss, especially considering he was the go to guy in the 1st half.
Delanie Walker: “Ask the coach.” pic.twitter.com/c2NB18E49i
— AtoZSports Nashville (@AtoZSports) September 15, 2019
I haven’t even began to explain how the Titans have been on 3rd down. The Titans have converted only THREE 3rd downs out of THIRTY during their first 2 games.
If this offense can’t find a way to get everyone involved, win on 1st and 2nd down, or even covert 3rd downs at a better rate than this, then we could be looking at another long year offensively for the Tennessee Titans.
On to the defensive side of the ball, the Titans made plenty of mistakes. Mistakes that could’ve cost the Titans offense extra drives to get their act together.
There were around 3-4 times the Titans had Jacoby Brissett trapped in the backfield for sacks. But instead of a big losses of yardage, Brissett escaped and found a receiver or found room to scramble. Finishing was the chance the Titans were given and they fumbled it away.
Finishing is what the Titans haven’t done against the Colts in years. Today, it came back to bite them in the butt. While Mike Vrabel elected to punt on a crucial 4th and 1 in his own territory, Frank Reich rolled the dice and went for it in a similar situation. The result? An important 1st down at that point in the game.
The Titans won’t have much time to let this loss marinate, as they go on the road to Jacksonville for Thursday night football. The Jaguars lost earlier today against the Texans, putting them at 0-2.
If the Titans can’t get a win there, they’ll be sitting at 1-2 with plenty questions and very few answers.
Cover Photo via Turron Davenport
