Not Skunked: The Titans Claw Their Way Victory with an Impressive 2nd Half
The Titans Snapped an 11 Game Divisional Losing Streak
It’s been 1,456 days since the Tennessee Titans beat the Indianapolis Colts. Until now.
First Half: All Colts Football
The Titans opened the 1st Quarter working down the field but stalled out and punted the ball in typical fashion. Amani Hooker would then reel in a tiptoe INT late in the 1st Quarter, and Daboll’s offense answered by failing to pick up a first down and punting the ball. The 1st Quarter was a stalemate caused by poor offensive play from both teams.
In the 2nd Quarter, the Colts found normalcy on offense and drove down the field with the help of some penalties, finding the end zone on a pass to Mo Alie-Cox to draw first blood. After a lackluster offensive drive by Tennessee, we saw another three-and-out by the Titans as Pollard was stopped short on 3rd and 4. The Colts would go on to score 6 more points in the first half, which included an interception by Bynum at the 2-minute warning.
3rd Quarter: The Titans Fight Back
The Colts received the 2nd half kickoff, but that was short-lived when Jeffery Simmons stripped the ball from Jonathan Taylor and recovered it for the Colts’ second turnover of the day.
The Titans would capitalize on the turnover with their first 3 points of the game. Something is better than nothing, and points are points.
Cor’Dale Flott then put an end to a 6-plus-minute offensive drive by the Colts when he intercepted a pass from Daniel Jones. The Titans drove down the field 51 yards but were unable to convert on 3rd down. Joey Slye came out and booted a 56-yard field goal through the uprights to make it a one-score game.
The 4th Quarter: Complementary Football
After forcing the Colts to punt, Chimere Dike came to life with a 58 yard punt return to fire up the Titans. The offense then drove down to the end zone in just 4 plays where Carnell Tate caught his first NFL career touchdown.
Special Teams had a huge impact when Julius Chestnut blocked a punt by the Colts that turned into 6 point scoop and score by Femi Oladejo. The Titans would hold the lead for 4 minutes and 45 seconds as the Colts drove the field to tie the game 20–20 with 5:32 left in the 4th Quarter.
A 49 yard field goal by Slye followed by a turnover on downs by the Colts on 4th and 17, put the Titans in an ideal position to put the game away. After three run plays in a row to drain the clock and force timeouts from Indianapolis, it the Titans secured a Field Goal and put the game on the shoulders of their defense with 43 seconds left on the clock.
After 5 plays and only one 19 yard completion, the Colts fell to one of the three winless teams left in the NFL.
The Tennessee Titans last won a regular season football game 301 days ago and now can declare that they are no longer winless this season.
Was this game perfection by the Titans? Absolutely not.
Did it show resilience and give us a glimpse of what could be when the team plays complementary football as a cohesive unit, yes.
We saw 6 total sacks from the defense, two big time interceptions, a blocked punt and only one turnover from the offense. There is still plenty to work on for the offense, but this first win is a start.
Game Changers:
- Carnell Tate — First NFL Touchdown and made big plays when needed
- Joey Slye — 4/4 Field Goals with a long from 56 yards
- Jeffery Simmons — 2 sacks, forced and recovered fumble
- Jermaine Johnson II — 2 sacks
- Amani Hooker — Interception and led the team with 13 tackles
- Cor’Dale Flott — Interception
- Julius Chestnut — Blocked Punt
- Oluwafemi Oladejo — Scoop and score on the Blocked Punt
Hot Take:
To diagnose the issues the Titans are having on offense, I propose that Cam Ward be benched for next week’s game against the Cleveland Browns.
Yes, the Titans won, but not because of the offensive play. Cam Ward completed 50% of his passes on the day with an interception and had a passer rating of 59.3. (NextGen Stats).
The Titans’ time of possession for the second half of the game was 10:26. I assume the defense was able to stay locked in due to so many high-octane plays that kept the sideline fired up. That’s something the Titans can’t count on week in and week out.
I am not out on Cam Ward as the Titans’ quarterback.
I propose only a process of elimination to identify the true issues behind the Titans’ offense and their lack of success. By targeting variables like Ward’s presence on the field, we’ll begin to see if Cam’s play is the catalyst or if the team needs to begin looking at Brian Daboll to place the blame. One week could turn into more if Daboll proves to be the right fit at the coordinator position with a backup quarterback. At this point in the season, I am of the belief that Daboll is holding Cam Ward back with his playcalling.
Until the problem is found and ripped out by the roots, the Titans won’t have much to celebrate in the coming weeks.
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