An encouraging defeat.
This will be short, sweet and right to the point because you know what, the Tennessee Titans lost and honestly I am not even mad about it.
Like the fireworks that will shortly dominate the UK skies – hello bonfire night – we started with a lot of flash and substance before fizzling out into nothing. But we were still surprised by the show!
The 27-20 loss to the LA Chargers was in my opinion our best game of the season.
Sure, the second half could have gone better, there is no denying that mistakes were made. However, with a team that is currently extremely reliant on rookies due to the loss of veterans through injury and unnecessary trading, we showed up.
Fourth round gems
Earlier this year the Tennessee Titans drafted three players in the fourth round and every single one of them are showing why they were worth the pick.
For those non-Titans fans out there, they are wide receivers Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor, and tight end Gunnar Helm.
For me, Dike is the shining star in that trio. His skills on specials team are growing week on week culminating on Sunday in a 67-yard punt return touchdown. It was the team’s first since Darius Reynaud had two against Jacksonville on 30 December, 2012.
This of course followed the Pick-6 by linebacker Cody Barton early in the first quarter. For a player we picked up in free agency before the start of the season, he is making the most of the opportunities he has been given to make his presence known.
The defense did not stop there! Racking up six sacks against Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and hitting him on 11 occasions throughout the course of the game.
Edge rusher Jihad Ward topped the list while Dre’Mont Jones was not far behind. Jones now has at least one sack in four straight games. Defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day and linebacker Cedric Gray also tallied sacks for the team making it a successful game. Defensively anyway.
Offensive struggles
On the flip side the offense managed just two field goals on the day – but at least kicker Joey Slye got us all of the points available for once!
Yet going 1-of-9 on third down proved to be the biggest road block, we once again just could not convert and the accumulation of penalties did not help the cause either.
By the end of the game the Titans managed just 206 yards and 10 first downs on the day.
The biggest blunder of the day however came late in the third quarter. Tennessee had four chances to punch it in and take a 24-20 lead, instead they found themselves trailing 27-17 after the Chargers’ goal-line stand and resulting touchdown drive.
With a bye next week, maybe the extra time can help this team get itself in order. The players and coaches know what we need to do and where we need to improve.
Now they need to stop blowing hot air and actually get on with it.
