The Tennessee Titans dropped their season-opening contest against the New York Giants in a bitterly disappointing fashion after collapsing in the second half and ultimately falling to Big Blue, 21-20.
There is a ton of stuff to dissect on both sides of the ball after the loss, whether you want to talk about the offensive play-calling or the warts Tennessee’s defense showed, particularly against the run.
We’ll cover those topics and more as we take a look at the biggest takeaways from the Titans’ Week 1 loss to the Giants.
Todd Downing still stinks
Whether it was play-calling or personnel decisions, Todd Downing reminded us why he shouldn’t have been back this season. I went over in detail the issues with his play-calling last night, so I’ll repost here:
Downing, who had a horrible first year as Tennessee’s play-caller in 2021, picked up where he left off on Sunday with several questionable play calls. Two of them came on third-and-1 plays where Downing appeared to be allergic to simply handing the ball off to Derrick Henry.
One saw the Titans go with the wild cat with Henry, who fumbled the snap and was unable to pick up the first down, leading to a Titans punt.
The other was more crucial. Downing went with an end around to Chigoziem Okonkwo with 6:26 left in the game instead of handing the ball off to Henry, which was stuffed for a four-yard loss, leading to another Titans punt that prevented them from having the opportunity to run out the clock.
But wait, there’s more…
The least talented tight end on the roster, Geoff Swaim, had more targets than Chig and Austin Hooper combined, and he had the same number of touches as his fellow tight ends put together. Downing even called a TIGHT END SCREEN for Swaim, who also had a drop on one of his targets.
The cherry on top of all that is Swaim garnering more snaps than any other skill-position player, including all of the receivers, tight ends, and even running back Derrick Henry.
You’re going to be seeing fans screaming for passing game coordinator Tim Kelly to take over as soon as possible, and I can’t say I blame them.
Despite everything, Titans should've won
We can dissect all the crap we saw from the Titans on both sides of the ball in Week 1, but the simple fact remains they still should have won this game.
Trailing 21-20 with just over a minute left to play, the Titans managed to drive down the field and get in field goal range for normally clutch kicker Randy Bullock, but he missed from 47 yards out.
If you’re looking for a silver lining, it’s that the Titans had a bad game and still almost won. If you’re a glass half empty type, you’re countering that with the Giants being a perennial loser these last five years.
Tannehill has good chemistry with Burks, Philips
Tannehill wasn’t great by any means but he did enough to win. He didn’t turn the ball over, tossed a pair of touchdowns and threw the Titans into field goal range to have a chance to win the game.
Also of note was the veteran signal-caller favoring rookies Treylon Burks and Kyle Philips, who finished second and first in targets, respectively.
And the rookies made the most of those chances, with Philips leading the team with six catches and 66 yards, including a clutch catch on the failed game-winning drive that set Bullock’s field goal attempt up.
Burks finished third in receiving yards with 55 while also flashing his yards after catch ability with two gains of 20-plus yards.
So, not only does Tannehill appear to have good chemistry with the two rookies, Burks and Philips themselves were impressive in their regular-season debuts.
Pass-rush will be fine, run defense is a concern
After sporting the No. 2 run defense in 2021 and returning all but one member of last year’s front-seven, the Titans were gashed on the ground in Week 1.
The Giants tallied 238 rushing yards, 164 of which came from Saquon Barkley, who averaged 9.1 yards per carry, including a 68-yard scamper that led to a New York touchdown.
On the bright side, the pass-rush looked fine without Harold Landry. Granted, the group slowed down as the game progressed, but it did notch five sacks, four of which came in the first half.
Jeffery Simmons remains a force after notching two sacks, Rashad Weaver had a pair of his own, and Bud Dupree tallied his first of the campaign. If Weaver and Dupree can keep this up, the Titans might be OK without Landry.
Don't get too excited about the offensive line
Tennessee’s group upfront was very good in pass protection after keeping the pocket clean for Ryan Tannehill and giving up just one sack.
However, it’s important to note that the Giants were without two key pass-rushers in Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari, so we’re not going to get too excited about the showing.
Adding to that, the run-blocking wasn’t ideal. Derrick Henry only mustered up 3.9 yards per carry and 82 yards overall, and he had a pair of solid gains called back because of questionable holding penalties on Aaron Brewer.
It was an encouraging performance from the new-look offensive line, but we won’t truly be confident about this group in pass protection until it shows out against a better front, like the Buffalo Bills’ in Week 2.
Caleb Farley an afterthought
When the Titans ran their first sub-package with an extra defensive back, it was Ugo Amadi and not Caleb Farley who came on the field — and that was a sign of things to come.
Rookie Roger McCreary started opposite Kristian Fulton, and the pair saw 57 and 58 snaps, respectively. Farley totaled just 15, which was 23 less than Amadi.
Not only is the 2021 first-round pick not starting, but he appears to be almost an afterthought in the defense entirely.
There’s still time to rebound, but playing time won’t be any easier to come by when Elijah Molden returns. Farley is officially on the road to bust status.
