Titan Week 3: Three Games. Same Outcome.
I don’t know what was worse in Week 3 for the Titans, the offensive play or the weather. The Titans went into MetLife Stadium to face backup QB Jameis Winston and ultimately fell flat once again in a very winnable situation. The Titans continue to put fans on an emotional roller coaster that just won’t stop by competing against a much better Philadelphia team in Week 2 and then losing to a much worse Giants team on the road.
Let’s look at every phase of the game to see where the Titans came up short to lose on a rainy day in New Jersey.
Offense
The Giants were unable to take advantage of their kickoff possession after a 5-play stint for -1 yards. This was huge. Finally a chance to not go down early in the game.
Tennessee then ran the ball twice followed by a dropped pass by Wan’Dale Robinson to seal the first of many 3-and-outs. We saw rookie Fernando Carmona leave the game for what is being listed as an ankle injury, and the refs decided that forward progress just wasn’t on their agenda, blowing dead a great effort made by Wan’Dale to cross the first-down marker.
It wasn’t until Cam Ward connected with Robinson again towards the end of the first half that the Titans would see a first down conversion. Sadly, the next play in that series was a 28-yard gain by Robinson that was negated by OPI committed by Elic Ayomanor. A 1st and 20 situation with a minute on the clock before half put the Titans behind the sticks and ultimately resulted in zero points once Joey Slye missed a 59-yard field goal just outside the post.
The score coming into the third quarter was 0–9 with the Giants receiving the kickoff. While not ideal, the Titans defense managed to hold the Giants to a field goal, shifting the score to 0–12.
How did the Titans answer? A 5:51 drive compiled of 30+ yards on the ground and 30 yards in the air. We saw flashes of Pollard and Carnell Tate, both fade when the Titans went for a 4th and 5 try on the Giants 7-yard line to Helm. While in most cases I would ultimately want them to take the points, I did like the call by Saleh to go for it. Yes, 3 points would later become a big factor in this game, but there have already been instances in both Weeks 1 and 2 where Saleh was playing more timidly. Also, even if the Titans do get 3 points there, it would’ve still been a two-score game with the Giants getting the ball back. At this point in the game, everything seemed hopeless, and the torrential downpour didn’t help. Fans had given up once again on this Titans performance. That is, until the defense forced a punt early in the 4th, followed by 13 plays and 7 points on the board with a Robinson touchdown.
Hope is kindled.
The Tennessee defense was alive and well and managed to once again stop Jameis Winston and Cam Skattebo from converting another scoring drive.
This was the Titans’ moment where everything was coming together.
Cam Ward and his teammates put together a 13-play drive paired with some fortunate penalties on New York to drive all the way back to the same New York 7-yard line. Two timeouts, red zone, momentum. What more could a team need to put the game away with 24 seconds?
Cam Ward was 23/35 before the final snap of the game with zero turnovers. He would then go to 23/36 and an interception after rolling left on 1st down and underthrowing a ball to Jevon Holland that was intended for Elic Ayomanor.
Game over. Ward showed his lack of experience and patience in a prime moment that could have reinvigorated the Titans fanbase and organization. Instead, the Titans fell to a much lesser Giants squad.
Positives on the day include the resurgence of Wan’Dale Robinson paired with Carnell Tate. It was nice to see them get connections with Ward despite the outcome. We also saw a very solid performance from the offensive line, even without the help of Fernando Carmona.
Of course, the question still remains around Cam Ward being the future of the franchise, especially after the bad decision-making we saw in Week 3, but I urge fans to give him time. I still see conservative play calling coming from OC Brian Daboll and think they need to adjust to be more aggressive and let Cam Ward be free to run the offense. We’ve seen safe play calling thus far and are 0–3. What’s the worst that could happen, 0–4? Before I can be out on Cam Ward, I need to see him be given more trust on the offense. There was a spark in him last season, and the last thing we need is for it to be snuffed out by fear of throwing an interception.
Defense
Jeffery Simmons showed his skill and leadership on the defensive side of the ball with 10 tackles (5 solo) and a sack. Anthony Hill Jr. continues to stay at the top of the stat board, and we even got to see Keldric Faulk record his first NFL sack.
There isn’t much more we could’ve asked from the defense besides a stronger first half and an interception that went straight into the hands of Amani Hooker.
The defense may have been the downfall of Week 2, but I can’t, in good conscience, hang this loss on them after such a strong answer to the Giants offense in the second half.
Special Teams
This one is obvious. You can’t fumble a kickoff to start the game. The only other thing worse than that happening is letting a kickoff get run back. Besides a big fumble by Chimere Dike at kickoff, Tommy Townsend had plenty of work to do with 239 total punt yards. I didn’t see many negatives on that front or from any other kickoffs. Slye missed a 59-yard field goal just left, but I would account for that potentially due to the extremely poor conditions.
Bottom Line
The Titans were the more efficient team in several aspects of this game (total yards, yards per play, first downs, third-down conversions) and still lost. They opened the game up with a turnover and then ended it the same way.
Cam Ward made a terrible call on the interception at the end of the game, there’s no question about that, but I still need more from a play-calling standpoint to see this team perform. Brian Daboll is waiting far too long in games to get plays in that are capable of sustaining drives. All I see is safe plays that aren’t trusting the quarterback. Doing this not only hurts the team, but gives Cam ZERO chance to develop.
Several fans are calling for Cam’s job already, but I need to see him get the reins more before I can make that call. Cam has the supporting staff and team to make the Titans a solid team in rebuilding. If we can see more on that front and there still isn’t progress, that will be another conversation. If you’re a fan, all I can urge is patience. Getting another young quarterback is not the answer right now. The Titans can’t keep starting at square one.
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