When the Tennessee Titans have come up short this season, a leaky run defense and a lack of pass rush has typically been the culprits. Entering Sunday’s game against the Jaguars, the Titans had allowed 35 points per game in six losses and only recorded 11 sacks in the defeats.
In a devastating 24-19 loss at Jacksonville, neither deficiency was exposed. Tennessee finished with a season-high seven sacks and allowed just 3.7 yards per carry. Instead, the Titans were marred by an inability to convert on opportunities deep in the Jaguars’ end. Tennessee reached the Jaguars’ 25 on six drives, but managed just one touchdown.
“We struggled all day to score points with settling for field goals when we could have done much better than that,” Titans coach Mike Munchak said. “When you do that in this league, it ends up costing you.”
The loss dropped the Titans to 0-3 in the AFC South and 4-7 overall. Tennessee now likely needs to win all five of its remaining games if it hopes to make the playoffs. Even then, the Titans probably need the Colts, Steelers and Bengals to go on extended losing streaks to earn one of the two wildcard spots in the AFC.
Offense: D
In a game of inches, the Titans came inches away from a pair of touchdowns which would have led to a different result on Sunday. WR Nate Washington juggled a pass in the end zone in the third quarter and WR Damian Williams was ruled out before he made a 15-yard reception in the end zone early in the fourth quarter. QB Jake Locker struggled with his accuracy early in the game and tossed a key interception with 2:40 left. RB Chris Johnson had few creases to run through, but finished with 109 total yards. Previous game's grade: A-
Defense: B-
Defensive Coordinator Jerry Gray dialed up blitzes aggressively and it paid off as the defense sacked Jags QB Chad Henne seven times and registered 12 QB hits. LB Zach Brown was menacing up the middle, finishing with two sacks and 10 tackles. The secondary did a nice job of containing Jags WR Justin Blackmon until the final minutes of the game. Blackmon had seven catches for 236 in Week 11 vs. the Texans, but only had 62 in Sunday’s win. Missed tackles on Cecil Shorts’ 59-yard touchdown and a late first-down run by Rashad Jennings are inexcusable. Previous game's grade: A+
Special Teams: C-
PK Rob Bironas hit three field goals, but missed a 42-yard attempt wide left in the second quarter. A holding penalty on a punt against safety Tracy Wilson late in the third quarter backed the Titans up inside their own 10. KR Darius Reynaud averaged 22 yards per kickoff return, but couldn’t provide a spark. P Brett Kern averaged 50.3 per punt, including a long of 57. Previous game's grade: A
Coaching: C-
If the Titans had converted touchdowns instead of the three field goals, the grade would have been much higher. Still, the offense lacked creativity at times. Either by design or because of the coverages presented, the Titans took few shots downfield. Some of the sideline patterns also need to be re-evaluated to give the receivers more room to operate. On several occasions Sunday, Titans’ wideouts were unable to get both of their feet inbounds after making catches in tight quarters. In Munchak’s postgame press conference, he said his team didn’t treat the Jaguars lightly heading into Sunday’s game. Still, Jacksonville won a game for only the second time this season and for the first time at home. Previous game’s grade: A+
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