What a damn weird game. The Tennessee Titans had a winning game plan and the players took control of the Los Angeles Chargers in the second half. As long as Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers was on the sideline, the Titans were in good shape. You could see it from the opening drive – the Titans had a methodical march down the field. It only resulted in three points, but they kept the Chargers offense from controlling the pace of the game.
The problem? Three seconds after that field goal, Rivers hit Tyrell Williams for a 75-yard touchdown bomb. Rivers struck again just a few minutes into the third quarter, hitting Mike Williams for a 55-yard score. For a while, it looked like those two big plays were going to be the difference in the game. Down 17-6, the Titans started sloppy on defense – leaving wide receivers wide open and missing tackles uncharacteristically.
But, after those two big plays, the defense settled in and really took over the game. Aside from those two plays, the Titans outright dominated the Chargers. Derrick Henry scored a touchdown to bring the Titans within four points (17-13). Then, with less than a minute on the clock, Marcus Mariota hit tight end Luke Stocker for a touchdown. All the Titans had to do was kick the extra point and the game was going into overtime.
But, they didn’t go for the extra point.
Instead, Mike Vrabel elected to go for two. The Titans failed to convert. While you may question the decision to go for it altogether, I’m more concerned about the play call. Instead of handing off to Henry or Dion Lewis and trying to ride what was an effective run game to that point…or instead of utilizing Mariota’s rushing ability, the Titans put the ball in the air. Taywan Taylor did not come down with it.
Game over. 20-19.
It certainly feels like this Titans team tries to get too cute at times. This is an instance of that. But, there are two things that do concern me about Vrabel and OC Matt LaFleur’s decision making in that situation. For one, the Titans brain trust ignoring the flow of the game, and the Titans brain trust moving away from what they do best with the game on the line. Because of both of those are decision-making issues – philosophical issues, if you will. It’s not a matter of execution that the team can simply upgrade by putting someone in off the bench.
The Titans were physically dominating the game in the second half. They put up more yards than the Chargers, registered more first downs, ran more plays (67 to the Chargers’ 44), and went 9/15 on third down. The defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage, and the offense was able to grind out efficient drives. In the second half, those drives led to points.
Conventional wisdom says you have all the momentum. So, you’re confident to send the game into overtime and give the players a chance to win it. Now, I get it – Rivers showed what he can do on any given play. If, by chance, the Chargers get the ball first, you’re apprehensive. After that touchdown, the Chargers defense is reeling – you try to capitalize and avoid the chance of Rivers getting the ball to start overtime altogether.
But, the problem is that that’s not how the game was flowing. The defense had successfully reined in Rivers. There wasn’t much reason to think he was going to go off the way he did in the first half.
Then, there’s the actual play call. The Titans ran the ball effectively in the second half. On the game, they averaged five yards per carry yesterday…Lewis averaged seven yards per carry. Mariota has tremendous scrambling ability. Yet, you put the ball in the air? The receivers, Tajae Sharpe aside, looked like trash ass.
Corey Davis was targeted seven times yesterday, and only hauled in three of those for 10 yards. Taylor had a bad drop. But, for some reason, LaFleur and Vrabel felt like the thing to do was call a passing play.
Those are both judgment issues. We’ll see how those things work themselves out moving forward.
Game Notes
*Sharpe was clearly the best receiver on the Titans yesterday. It certainly looks like Mariota trusts him. He finished with seven catches for 101 yards, and was huge on third down.
*Lewis > Henry. Herbie Brooks said, “imagine if Henry ran as hard as Lewis,” and folks – that would be a top five back in the league. It doesn’t exactly seem like this staff is confident in Henry, either. Regardless, people need to stop insinuating that Henry is a power back.
*At least Malcolm Butler didn’t have a bad game again.
*With this loss and Houston defeating Jacksonville, the Texans are now in first place of the AFC South.
Growing Pains
We’ve heard a lot about “growing pains” in LaFleur’s offense. There’s certainly a lot of blame to go around – receivers dropping passes and being non-factors, Ryan Succop missing a field goal, Kendrick Lewis and Logan Ryan getting burned. Unfortunately, we’re probably going to hear a lot of negative opinions on Mariota for the next two weeks on Nashville sports radio. That’s totally unwarranted.
I loved the way Mariota played pissed off late in the game. Overall, he played well. This one, as is common in the NFL, came down to mistakes. Mistakes in execution and mistakes in judgment. You still see the vision for what this team could be on offense and it’s exciting. They just might not have the personnel depth we initially thought they had. Mariota seems to be getting a grasp of the offense – but the skill position players just aren’t producing. Are these still growing pains? Or is it indicative of a larger issue with the Titans?
This bye week probably couldn’t have come at a better time. This team needs to regroup and refocus. We’re going to find out what this team is really made of.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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