The Tennessee Titans had arguably their best all-around performance of the season in Week 4, which resulted in a relatively easy 27-3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Tennessee’s offense was at its best thanks to improved blocking and better play-calling, and the defense was dominant, with the defensive front and secondary both playing at a high level.
The win puts the Titans right in the middle of the AFC South scrum that has all four teams sporting a 2-2 record, and perhaps more importantly, the effort showed the 2022 team has some fight in it after a putrid Week 3 showing.
The Titans will play their first divisional game of 2023 in a huge Week 5 game against the Indianapolis Colts. But before we start looking ahead at that, let’s take a look back at the impressive result from Sunday with our biggest takeaways.
Masterful play-calling
Both defensive coordinator Shane Bowen and offensive coordinator Tim Kelly called a great game in Week 4.
Bowen dialed up some really great blitzes that finally utilized the heat-seeking missile he has at inside linebacker in Azeez Al-Shaair, and his gameplan was simply fantastic overall.
Kelly could do no wrong on his end, either. He went with a more pass-heavy approach while utilizing play-action on early downs that not only kept the Bengals’ defense off balance, it helped open things up for Derrick Henry.
But that wasn’t all: Kelly was creative in his play-calling, not only on the Henry touchdown pass but with the flea flicker that nearly resulted in a long touchdown. It was exactly the kind of outside-the-box thinking this offense needed.
What a difference a little creativity and, more importantly, blocking can make.
A step in the right direction for the O-line
We’re not going to start proclaiming the offensive line fixed until we see more games like the one on Sunday, but it was definitely a good sign.
There’s still work to be done, no doubt, but Andre Dillard corrected some of his ills from last week (like getting off the ball slowly) and stud pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson only had 0.5 sacks.
Adding to Dillard’s performance, the rest of the O-line deserves credit for improved pass protection and vastly improved run-blocking, the latter of which was the best we’ve seen this season.
While Dillon Radunz has performed admirably at left guard in his place, the return of Peter Skoronski should further provide a boost — and we may see that return this week.
Derrick Henry is still Him
Despite the fact that just about everything wrong with the Titans’ run game over the first three weeks had to do with blocking and play-calling, there were still some out there criticizing Henry.
Well, put that to bed because The King remains firmly in his throne as one of the best — if not the best — running backs in the NFL after an impressive Week 4 performance. He’s also one hell of a quarterback, too.
Henry actually had some space to work with thanks to better blocking and play-calling that wasn’t so predictable and turned it into his first 100-yard game of the season. He also showed the tough running we’ve come to know and love on his 29-yard touchdown scamper that saw him break three tackles.
Adding to his impressive day, Henry passed Houston Oilers legend and Hall of Famer Earl Campbell for second on the franchise’s all-time rushing yards list. Eddie George is now squarely in his sights, and assuming he can stay healthy and produce at close to the levels he’s produced in recent years, he should break that mark at some point next season, at the latest.
Long may he reign.
Titans' offense showed its potential
Amazing how different an offense can look when players are executing and the play-caller is mixing things up. The end result was Tennessee’s offense making it look easy, both on the ground and through the air.
This offense has all the pieces it needs to be very good if it can find consistency, especially along the offensive line.
Cautious optimism for the secondary
Like the offensive line, we aren’t going to proclaim the secondary fixed after what was its best performance of the young season, but this was certainly a step in the right direction.
The secondary played a perfect complement to a relentless pass-rush and fully eliminated the X plays, something that was a point of emphasis. In fact, Tennessee didn’t allow a single play of 20 yards or more in a game for the first time this season.
Kristian Fulton responded after a week of criticism, and Titans cornerbacks as a whole limited what is probably the best wide receiver trio in the NFL to 13 catches for 118 yards and no scores. Cincinnati’s potent passing attack only mustered up 139 yards.
If the secondary can continue to play in tandem with a pass-rush like the one the Titans had on Sunday, this defense has the capability to hit the elite level many thought it could at the start of the season.
The defensive front returns to form
After two lackluster showings the past two weeks, the defensive front found its footing in Week 4.
This impressive showing on defense — even for the secondary — begins and ends with the sensational effort from the defensive front, which was as relentless as it needed to be in order to keep Burrow and Co. in check.
But it wasn’t just about generating a consistent pass-rush; the Titans needed to get to a hobbled Burrow in a timely manner, as the Bengals aimed to have him get rid of the football quickly. That mission was accomplished.
Arden Key got back on track with a sack, Jeffery Simmons did what he always does, and even Trevis Gipson contributed with a strip sack in just three snaps.
The run defense wasn’t at its best, but it did get better as the game went on and nobody will be complaining considering all the elite run defense in the world wasn’t enough to win games for Tennessee for several weeks.
Tennessee needed a monumental effort from the group upfront on Sunday and that was exactly what happened. Now, let’s see the unit string together good games and be more consistent moving forward.
Azeez Al-Shaair's coming out party
One of the biggest strengths of Al-Shaair’s game is how fast he plays. One thing that always sticks in my brain about him is how Kyle Madson of Niners Wire called the former San Francisco linebacker a “heat-seeking missile.”
We saw that in spades in Week 4. Al-Shaair was flying all over the field making plays, which we saw in his tackle for loss and pair of quarterback hits that came when he was sent to blitz.
Al-Shaair had been OK up until Week 4, but the win over the Bengals was the game to really put him on the map in the two-tone blue.
