The Tennessee Titans got back on track in a big way in Week 4 with a dominant 27-3 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at Nissan Stadium.
What a difference a week makes.
After the Week 3 loss to the Cleveland Browns, we had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find winners for our weekly article. This time around, there were no shortage of them in what was a sensational all-around effort from Tennessee.
The offense was firing on all cylinders and the defense was relentless and absolutely put the clamps on Joe Burrow and Co.
As a result, we don’t have a single loser to speak of. What we do have is plenty of winners. Here are the biggest ones from Week 4.
Winners: Andre Dillard and the offensive line
There’s certainly still things to clean up for Dillard, but he was night-and-day better than he was last week and his primary matchup, stud pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson, only managed 0.5 sacks.
Adding to that, the entire offensive line was good in pass protection and the run-blocking was the best we’ve seen all season. Nobody is claiming the offensive line is fixed, but this was a great step.
Winner: QB Ryan Tannehill
Once again, Tannehill proved that all he needs is the support of some actual pass protection and he can make things happen. Tannehill was picking apart Cincinnati’s secondary all game long and even connected on a handful of passing plays that went for 20-plus yards. He was sharp on Sunday.
Winner: RB Derrick Henry
After a slow start to the season, The King finally broke loose, both literally and figuratively. It’s amazing what one of the best running backs in the NFL can do when he has some actual blocking.
Henry tallied a 29-yard touchdown run that saw him break three tackles, and he crossed the century mark on the ground for the first time this season. As if all that wasn’t enough, the Alabama product also threw for a score.
Oh, and by the way, he moved into second place on the franchise’s all-time rushing yards list.
For those who continue to try and write Henry’s career obituary, do so at your own peril. The King looked anything but washed on Sunday.
Winner: Titans' defensive front
The Titans only notched three sacks but they also hit Joe Burrow nine times and had countless pressures. Most importantly, the group was relentless at getting after the Bengals signal-caller for a full 60 minutes, completely wrecking Cincinnati’s passing attack.
Jeffery Simmons, Arden Key and Trevis Gipson all had one sack, and Gipson’s resulted in a fumble recovered by the defense. The former Chicago Bears still only played three snaps but hopefully his contribution will lead to Tennessee giving the talented edge rusher more looks moving forward after he was inactive the previous two games.
The run defense was shaky out of the gates but was able to settle in as the contest progressed. This was a sensational effort from the group upfront.
Winner: Kristian Fulton and the secondary
After rightly getting criticized for a poor showing in Week 3, Fulton answered the bell with a solid performance in Week 4, helping to hold Ja’Marr Chase to 73 yards on seven catches.
The secondary as a while played a perfect complement to the Titans’ ridiculously successful pass-rush. Tennessee’s group held the Bengals’ elite wide receiver trio to just 118 yards on 13 catches. It was also the first game this season in which the secondary didn’t give up a 20-yard play.
Winner: LB Azeez Al-Shaair
Al-Shaair had his coming out party in Week 4. He was all over the field making plays and was extremely effective when asked to blitz, notching a pair of QB hits to go along with his two passes defensed and nine tackles (one for loss).
Winner: OC Tim Kelly
Kelly had his best game as a play-caller on Sunday, doing just about everything we wanted him to do in our keys to victory. Of course, a big part of him being able to do all that was the fact that the blocking was good.
The Titans offensive coordinator went with more passing plays and play-action on early downs, which kept the Bengals from selling out to stop the run, giving Henry more room to work with. And, that also played to Tannehill’s strengths, seeing as how he thrives with play-action.
Kelly also showed some much-needed creativity in his play-calling to further keep the Bengals off balance, and even dialed up a successful Henry touchdown pass, something that never gets old.
Winner: DC Shane Bowen
We can’t credit the defense without giving props to Bowen, who much like Kelly called a masterful game.
Bowen pushed all the right buttons and dialed up blitzes that proved to be effective, even in a game in which the Bengals tried to get rid of the ball quickly.
In all, the Bengals didn’t convert a third down until the fourth quarter and were 2-for-9 overall. Further, Cincy only made one trip to the red zone, scored just three points and only had 211 yards of offense, including 139 through the air.
Winner: TE Josh Whyle
After seeing 22 snaps through his first three games, the Titans showed more faith in their rookie tight end by giving him a career-high 18 snaps – and he made the most of them.
Whyle recorded two catches for 26 yards and was on the receiving end of Henry’s touchdown pass, marking the first score of his career.
Unfortunately, Whyle left the game early with an ankle injury but hopefully it’s nothing major and he can build on the momentum he gained from this contest.
