THE Tennessee Titans I missed a very winnable game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at home, fall 20-17 in a game where the Titans led from the 11th minute of the second quarter until the middle of the fourth.
Quarterback Will Levis and the offense had five chances in the fourth quarter to extend or regain the lead, but any positive momentum collapsed with two three-and-outs, a quick interception, a stall before the two-minute warning and a doomed attempt to play the lateral play in the final seconds of the match.
Put it all together and the Titans are 1-4, heading into back-to-back road games against the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions, two of the league’s most formidable Super Bowl contenders. It’s hard to look at the upcoming slate and not see the Titans falling to 1-6 by the end of October. Let that happen — even with a late-season schedule filled with conference and divisional games — and the phrases “tank for the draft” and “start looking for a new answer at quarterback” become almost expected.
Is this fate inevitable for the Titans? Let’s take a look at some big winners and losers so far that could be the key to avoiding the Halloween early payment.
ESTES | In big moments, these Titans fade instead of step up
Loser: The Will Levis-Brian Callahan Partnership
The Titans hired coach Brian Callahan to get the most out of Levis. So far, this has seemingly only worked by getting Levis to start completing a much higher volume of his passes. Big plays are down. Turnovers are on the rise. Facing a Colts team on Sunday that entered Week 6 with the worst defense in the NFL, the Titans completed just two passes that gained more than 10 yards. One of them was the final play from scrimmage when the Colts had their defensive backs lined up in Clarksville.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with a short-yardage-focused dink-and-dunk offense. The problem is that the version the Titans are using isn’t producing results. Callahan and Levis either need to prove they can maintain an offense built around short stuff or find ways to incorporate big plays more successfully. This happy medium does not work and will not be enough to maintain competitiveness against Detroit (4-1) or Buffalo (3-2 before its “Monday Night Football” match against the Jets).
Winner: JC Latham’s choice and the (theoretical) progression of the O line
Two games isn’t a large enough sample size to say the offensive line has corrected course after those horrible performances against Chicago, the New York Jets and Green Bay. But things have been pretty solid since the first three weeks, culminating in the first sack-free performance since 2021.
The main thing the Titans needed this season from JC Latham, their 2024 first-round left tackle, was for him to be merely average and a huge improvement over his predecessors. He’s done that and more, and now that Leroy Watson IV is in position to possibly take over at right tackle, it’s the first time in a long time that the Titans can feel good about their O-line.
Again: no one is saying that having a unit with a bottom 10 pressure rating is a good thing. But not being last is progress, and having building blocks to feel good about is huge.
Loser: Pass Rush skill
The last passer the Titans used a Day 1 or Day 2 NFL draft pick on is currently the longest-tenured player on the roster. It’s fair to say that this organization has not done a great job investing in local talent. This gap is beginning to manifest itself.
Harold Landry III is still a good player, but the Titans have virtually no other playmakers to stress out the quarterbacks. This puts too much pressure on defensive backs and gives opponents too many opportunities to stay in rhythm. If this problem is not addressed, either by bringing in new talent or changing the system to free up more rushers, dropback quarterbacks will be able to weave their way through the Titans defense without actually having to move, as Joe Flacco did it on Sunday.
Winner: Base Defense
The Titans defense is good in a strange, almost frustrating way. This doesn’t create turnovers, sacks, or tackles for loss particularly well. It’s not great in scripted situations, end-of-half drills, or clutch moments. But in regular, mundane playoff football, this defense might be the best in the league. There is something to be said about that.
The old Titan defenses were all bent, not breaking. This defense is a little more does not bend, sometimes breaks. It’s fascinating as a football watcher, but probably infuriating for fans who want one of the NFL’s best units to exploit its potential for full games. For now, give the unit credit for doing what it’s supposed to do in the moments that define most of a football game, and rest assured knowing that this version of the defense is more repairable than the alternative.
Loser: Knowing how to win
Let’s finish by thinking about the Lions and the Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans and the Minnesota Vikings and any team you like to think of as a Super Bowl contender. These teams know how to win big. The Lions just won a game 47-9, for Pete’s sake.
They also, and above all, know how to win up close. The six teams above are 17-4 in games decided by eight points or fewer this season. Nearly two-thirds of their wins came in close games. Meanwhile, in three games. the Titans wasted chances to win in the fourth quarter.
Close matches will take place. Close games could well happen against the best teams in the NFL. If the Titans hope to keep fans from checking out until November, figuring out what it takes to keep things together in these types of games is the most important factor.
ESTES: This week, it’s the penalties that are tripping up the Tennessee Titans
Nick Suss is the Titans writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at [email protected]. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @nicksuss.
This article was originally published on Nashville Tennessean: Winners, losers from the Titans’ 1-4 start and what can stop the slide
