Coming into today’s game against Chicago, the Tennessee Titans’ struggles defensively were as clear as day. This defense couldn’t rush the passer, they couldn’t cover anyone, and they couldn’t get off the field on 3rd down. It was honestly a mess no one knew a concrete solution to, and that’s a big problem for a team with Super Bowl aspirations like the Titans.
But there was a potential remedy for the Titans’ defensive problems this week, a remedy that could potentially give this defense some confidence, or even something to build on going forward. Yes, this remedy was no average one, it’s one that every team dreams of using whenever they’re in need of some soul searching as a unit or as an entire football team.
We call this remedy, the Chicago Bears’ offense.
Seriously, the Bears’ offense was horrendous heading into today’s game, and they were horrendous once again today against a Titans defense that was shorthanded in the secondary.
Before a couple of garbage time touchdowns, Matt Nagy’s offense had scored only 3 points, and didn’t convert a single third down until the middle of the 3rd quarter. Nick Foles was pressured all game long, the running game couldn’t get going again, and the unit as a whole made some mistakes that could’ve almost made you scream in laughter.
But I won’t take away credit from this Titans defense, which played some really good football all game long.
They finally got a pass rush going, something they’ve failed to consistently do through their first 7 games of the year. Harold Landry and Derick Roberson both especially put the heat on Foles today, with Roberson really coming on and probably playing better than Vic Beasley ever did during his time in Tennessee.
Derick Roberson has played a really good game today.
— TreJean Watkins (@TreWatkins099) November 8, 2020
It wasn’t just the pass rush that played a good game today either, the secondary stepped up big time.
Malcolm Butler continued his impressive stretch of play, shadowing Allen Robinson and containing him for the most part aside from some extremely athletic plays from Robinson later in the second half. Breon Borders stepped up as well, after he was forced into action because of Tye Smith’s ongoing injury issues.
Newcomer Desmond King even returned a fumble for a score, but he did he beat a few times out of the slot by Anthony Miller.
All in all, it was a good day for this Titans defense, and it’s definitely a performance they can build on going forward.
But is it time to celebrate and officially declare that all the Titans’ defensive issues are gone?
Absolutely not.
Sure, you had a great defensive day against a Bears offense that’s by far one of the worst in football. But until you start playing fast and swarm on defense against an offense that doesn’t put you to sleep, you still have to have some concerns about whether this defense can function without making a fool out of themselves.
You still have to get healthy, specifically in the secondary.
Adoree Jackson still hasn’t returned from his knee injury, and if he isn’t activated off IR by Wednesday, then he’ll be lost for the season. This defense needs Jackson out there, not just to push this defense closer towards full strength, but so this defense can do a lot more things schematically in terms of blitzing and different forms of coverage.
The pass rush has yet to show that it can stay consistent when they find the tiniest bits of success, and that’s if they even find success at all. You won’t play bad offensive lines each week and get the fortune of pinning your ears back on pass rushing opportunities. You have to get your game going against more talented lines early and often moving forward if you want to go far in January, and that’s a fact.
If this defense can continue their impressive play against Indianapolis, then it’ll be okay to start believing in this defense a bit more.
But until then, hold your horses.
