The Tennessee Titans lost a thrilling, albeit deflating game in overtime to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 13, 31-28. This is the type of loss that will keep players and coaches up at night thinking about what could’ve been.
To say this was a whacky game would be putting it mildly.
Sunday’s divisional contest had it all, from exciting big plays, wild sequences, injuries to key players, and everything in between.
Sadly, at the end of it all was an eighth loss for the Titans in a game they probably should’ve won.
A win would’ve gotten the team to 5-7 and back into the wild-card hunt, but instead, the Titans’ first home loss of the year all but eliminates any chance of a miracle second half of the season.
Make no mistake: those hopes were already bleak, but they’re all but over at this point.
This game was honestly a beautiful disaster, and the weekly grades reflect it by being all over the place. Now, let’s take a look at this week’s report card following the Titans’ loss to the Colts.
Quarterback: C
Although it wasn’t enough to win, Levis punched back every time he was knocked down and gave his team a chance. It wasn’t always pretty, but he certainly wasn’t the reason why the Titans lost today.
However, you definitely want to see more at times, especially when the game was there for the taking. Levis finished the game with 224 passing yards and one touchdown.
Running back: A+
Derrick Henry and Tyjae Spears were fantastic on Sunday, totaling 208 yards from scrimmage yards and two touchdowns. 177 of those yards came on the ground, with Spears carrying the load down the stretch after Henry left with a concussion.
It’s a shame this type of effort didn’t result in a victory, but the Titans’ running backs certainly did their part.
Wide receivers: C
It was another performance dominated by DeAndre Hopkins, as he was the only wide receiver on the team who eclipsed 30 yards on the day.
In total, DHop caught five passes for 75 yards and one touchdown, and he’s the only reason why this group got an average grade on the day.
This team desperately needs to get him some help along the boundary, but unfortunately, that probably won’t come until the offseason, at the earliest.
Tight ends: C+
Chig Okonkwo showed flashes of the explosive weapon we grew accustomed to last season. He averaged over 20 yards per reception en route to totaling 62 yards on the day.
Okonkwo did suffer another horrendous drop, so I can’t go with a higher grade here, but this was at least another step in the right direction for the talented tight end.
Josh Whyle added another 16 yards, and the two of them, along with Trevon Wesco, had several nice blocks in the run game, as well.
Offensive line: C
At points in this game, the offensive line looked fantastic.
The group was setting the tone against a formidable defensive front and created running lanes for Henry and Spears to work with.
The offensive line is still struggling with occasional back-breaking false starts, but the group upfront has looked much improved since going to the rookie left side consisting of Peter Skoronski and Jaelyn Duncan.
With that said, the O-line still allowed six sacks on the day, so I can’t give it anything more than an average grade.
Defensive line: C
Outside of Denico Autry, this group didn’t make nearly enough of an impact against a Colts team that was very beatable. Gardner Minshew was able to stand in the pocket and carve the secondary up for over 300 yards and two touchdowns.
To make matters worse, Jeffery Simmons left early and there’s no telling how long the Titans will be without the heart of their defense.
The defensive line did play a huge role in holding the Colts to just 55 yards rushing, so for that, I’ll give the unit a respectable grade. But if this group is ever going to become a true force to be reckoned with, it needs to start getting after the quarterback with more urgency going forward.
Outside linebackers: C-
Harold Landry and Arden Key had their moments, but they weren’t nearly consistent enough on a day where they faced a backup rookie right tackle for the majority of the game.
The two of them did combine for one sack and nine tackles on the day, so that keeps them out of a below-average grade. But the duo is making too much money to be that irrelevant when the team needs them the most.
Inside linebackers: B-
This was a strong day for Azeez Al-Shaair and Jack Gibbens, who consistently made plays for the defense.
The two of them constantly found themselves around the ball and made plays when needed. Gibbens, in particular, had a strong day in coverage.
The linebacker duo ended the day with 25 tackles combined, one sack, one pass deflection and one quarterback hit.
Cornerbacks: F
It was a bad day all around for this group, as not a single one of the starters was absolved from bad moments.
Roger McCreary dropped what should’ve been an easy interception, Kristian Fulton continued to get beat, and Sean Murphy-Bunting played probably the worst game of his Titans tenure.
All of the attention is going to the offensive line and wide receiver group, but the cornerback position is probably the most underrated position that desperately needs to be addressed in the offseason.
Safeties: D
The safeties are responsible for not letting passes go over their head, but sadly, they were destroyed by Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce on two deep balls that killed the rest of the team.
While most of the blame in those situations goes to the corners, when you let deep bombs like that occur, your safeties have to take some of the blame, as well.
The only bright spot was Amani Hooker intercepting a two-point conversion attempt and taking it to the house. That saved this group from getting a failing grade.
Specialists: F
This game was a disaster for this group.
The Titans had two blocked punts that resulted in points for the opposition. To add salt to the wound, those blocks resulted in losing punter Ryan Stonehouse for what will likely be an extended period of time.
Not having Stonehouse also forced Ryan Tannehill to hold, and Nick Folk ended up missing an extra point that would’ve given the Titans a one-point lead instead of having to go to overtime.
This group has been fantastic all year long, but Sunday was certainly not one of those days.
