The Tennessee Titans lost their second straight and remain winless on the road in 2023 after dropping their Week 10 game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 20-6.
Tennessee’s offense actually came out firing and moved the ball down the field with success on its opening drive but couldn’t get the job done in the red zone, per usual, leading to a field goal.
From there, it was all down hill, as the Titans’ offense struggled to get anything going, both on the ground and through the air. Of course, the blocking upfront was the main culprit.
Tennessee got off to a strong start defensively, also, but that showing waned as well as the game progressed. The Bucs doing just about whatever they wanted to through the air en route to a handful of big plays.
Now, a closer look at the Titans’ latest loss, which drops their record to 3-6, with all six of those losses coming away from Nissan Stadium.
Final score: Bucs 20, Titans 6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| TEN | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| TB | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
Titans' top performers
RB Tyjae Spears: 5 CAR, 18 YDS; 4 REC, 42 YDS
WR Kyle Philips: 3 REC, 61 YDS
DL Teair Tart: 3 tackles, 2 TFL, sack
DL Denico Autry: 3 tackles, TFL, sack
Instant analysis: Offense
-Will Levis had his worst game as a pro, but it was hardly all on him. The rookie had several errant throws that should’ve been picked and the Bucs ended up coming away with one. However, it’s hard to blame him for less than ideal decision-making when he was under constant duress, which also made taking shots down the field impossible. If there’s a positive to draw from Levis’ showing, he remained poised in the pocket despite the disaster around him and did his best to stand in there and make plays.
-Andre Dillard exited the game early with a concussion and was replaced by Dillon Radunz at left tackle, with Andrew Rupcich replacing Radunz at right guard. We assumed that might help things upfront but pass protection was still awful throughout, with Levis getting hit over 10 times, four of which resulted in a sack. Tennessee simply had no answer for Tampa’s blitzing. Run-blocking was putrid, also.
-Tim Kelly’s play-calling could best be described as scared and predictable in this one, especially in the red zone. He failed to do anything to help Levis and the offensive line out, like getting the rookie rolling out and using his athleticism to make something happen. Mike Vrabel’s decision to kick a FG down 17-3 in the fourth quarter with the ball at the nine-yard line was another bad call.
-The Titans were 5-13 on third downs, 0-1 on fourth down and 0-2 in the red zone. Tennessee is 2-7 in the red area since Levis took over and the team remains one of the worst in the NFL in the red zone this season.
-As if poor execution wasn’t bad enough, Tennessee also had some self-inflicted wounds via penalties. Radunz’ back-to-back false starts after an eight-yard gain on first down during one drive stuck out the most.
-Chig Okonkwo dropped two more passes. One of them would’ve moved the chains and the other was on a pass that hit off his hands in the end zone, nearly resulting in an interception if not for a great play from DeAndre Hopkins to knock it loose.
Instant analysis: Defense
-The defense got off to a good start thanks to early pressure, but as has been the case all season long, the pass-rush was inconsistent and couldn’t keep it up. As a result, Baker Mayfield was able to do whatever he wanted down the field against the Titans’ secondary, with the Bucs signal-caller tallying a handful of big plays. Mike Evans had the majority of them, broke the century mark and scored a touchdown that saw him drag two Titans to get there. He should’ve had two scores if not for a dropped pass in the end zone.
-Tampa also scored on a screen pass to Rachaad White that he took 43 yards to the house. Monty Rice bit on the play fake and was out of position, which allowed White to break it.
-Tennessee’s run defense had its best game in weeks but that hardly mattered.
-As was the case on offense, the Titans shot themselves in the foot with some bad penalties to help the Bucs’ offense.
-The Titans notched an actual turnover in this game after an interception by Roger McCreary. They are now tied for the fewest in the NFL after entering the game dead-last in the league.
Instant analysis: Special teams
-Nick Folk missed his first field goal as a Titan, with his 51-yard attempt going very wide right. He ended up making two of his three attempts on the afternoon (long 38).
-Ryan Stonehouse averaged 56.8 yards per punt, with a long of 62. Two of his punts landed inside the 20.
-Eric Garror was pretty effective as a punt returner, averaging 7.7 yards per return on three attempts, with a long of 15.
Injuries
LB Chance Campbell (undisclosed): Campbell suffered an injury in pregame warm-ups and was ruled out.
LT Andre Dillard (concussion): Dillard left in the first quarter and did not return.
Highlights
ROGER THAT!
📺: Watch #TENvsTB on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/HrHvjQyayo
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) November 12, 2023
.@tyjae22 shakes the defender for a first down
📺: Watch #TENvsTB on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/SWt3MdiCLX
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) November 12, 2023
What's next?
The Titans remain in the cellar in the AFC South with a 3-6 record and they have now lost all six games away from Nissan Stadium this season when you include the loss in London.
Unfortunately, Tennessee has yet another road game in Week 11 when they travel to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars, a team coming off an ugly loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
