This is the first time the franchise has been shut out since the 2019 season.
It is hard to say if Sunday’s 0-26 loss to the Houston Texans was the lowest point of the season so far or not.
I am honestly not even sure where to start when dissecting the game.
Error upon error
Do we talk about the two missed field goals by kicker Joey Slye? How about the inaccuracies in quarterback Cam Ward’s throws? Or would that be the receivers’ inability to catch anything from him?
On the plus side, there were fewer penalties this week but if you cannot score points, does that really make much of a difference?
Ward completed just 10 of 26 passes for a grand total of 108 yards with an interception.
Snippets of hope on defense
While the offense as a whole achieved only 10 first downs in the entire game, the defense allowed three touchdowns – the same number of Titans touchdowns this season by the way – in the fourth quarter!
Although there was a tiny glimmer of hope for the defense they used to be, when they were able to block the Texans attempt at a two-point conversion. But once again, it was too little too late.
Not only that but Jeffrey Simmons made what has to be one of the fastest sacks by a defensive player quite possibly ever! He shot into the backfield like a horse from a starting gate and took out Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud for a loss of three yards.
While we are more than the sum of our individual parts, this does perhaps support the opinion of some fans that it is the staff and not the players where we have the problems.
Was Bo the right call?
I am sure the entire Titans nation can agree that when Brian Callahan decided to hand off play-calling duties earlier this week to quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree, we all thought it was the right decision.
However, I think the majority of us were expecting it to have more of an impact than what we got.
That is perhaps prematurely unfair to Hardegree since he did manage to reduce the yardage we gave up in penalties – and the actually points we scored as well, but that is very much not the point I am making.
I find myself repeating the mantra “I love my team, I love my team, I love my team” on a daily basis, if only to remind myself that it will get better, because it has to.
And if not, there is always next year.
