No revenge for the Tennessee Titans.
The Tennessee Titans’ last home win came in Week 9 of the 2024 season in overtime against non-other than the New England Patriots.
How serendipitous would it have been then to bookend that disappointing winless chapter at Nissan Stadium in the most poetic way.
Alas, it was not to be. We always knew that Sunday was going to be a tense game, in more ways than one!
Welcoming Mike Vrabel back to Nissan Stadium seems almost poetic given how he left and how well he is doing in New England.
He even bought a couple of our ex-players with him when he came into our house and left with a 31-13 victory.
By the end of the fourth quarter even Titans fans were chanting his name, highlighting our horrific fall from grace over the last few seasons.
All is not lost
Titans quarterback Cam Ward had another rocky game with an incredible first half followed by an absolute catastrophe after the break.
We are seeing the franchise player he can be but the main concern for me is his consistency. He cannot seem to maintain that level of play for the full game and that is worrying.
The mistakes that he is making are avoidable but the ramifications are devastating to us. Not only was he sacked multiple times – again – but he also threw an interception – again – this time ending in a touchdown for the opposition – again.
Analysts during the game have noted that he does not seem to value the football when he has it. With Halloween around the corner my thinking is that he should start getting in character, embrace his inner Sméagol and treat that pig skin like his ‘precious’.
The aforementioned fumble was Ward’s fifth of the year, not great considering we have only played seven games. That fumble also secured the Patriots two touchdowns in 11 seconds which must be some kind of NFL record.
The good and the bad
For me the standout player of the game was rookie Chimere Dike. One scoring drive that ended in a 38-yard touchdown for him has really shown how much of an asset he is becoming, definitely a worthwhile draft pick.
Kicker Joey Slye is also back – we released Matt Wright earlier this week – scoring two field goals and the PAT on the touchdown.
Yet where one side of the ball starts to excel it seems the other side starts to suffer.
While T’Vondre Sweat is now back we have lost Jeffrey Simmons to a quad injury that if serious could see him sidelined for a few games.
L’Jarius Sneed also left early with a quad injury and we never had Calvin Ridley on the field to begin with this week.
We are losing players left, right and center at a time when we honestly need all the help we can get. Midway through the fourth quarter we had run eight plays for -3 yards since the half.
Next week we are away at Lucas Oil Stadium against division rivals the Indianapolis Colts. With how well they are currently playing we need every quarter to be like the first was on Sunday.
