If you woke up this morning hoping Sunday was just a horrible dream, you’re not alone. If you pulled up the box score after watching the entire game just hoping it would say something different, you’re not alone. To be brutally honest, this was one of the hardest NFL games I have ever watched from start to finish. A systematic beatdown is what occurred on Sunday evening. The Titans would have been better off forfeiting this game than playing it. I don’t even know where to start, and apparently, neither did the Titans.
Offensive Line Nightmare
Let’s start with the fact that 8 different Ravens recorded a sack in this game. EIGHT DIFFERENT PLAYERS, for a total of 11 sacks. How can you possibly call yourself one of the best offensive lines in the NFL and give up 11 sacks in a single game? What we witnessed was atrocious and borderline negligence. How do you give up 11 sacks when you have a mobile quarterback like Marcus Mariota? I’m still trying to fathom this, it’s going to take a lot of time.
How do you fix this issue? What we saw Sunday isn’t something that can be fixed in a week of play. The Titans play in London next week, are they going to be booed out of the stadium? Should they even show up if this is how they are going to play? Let this sink in for a minute. Marcus Mariota was sacked more times than he completed a pass. That has only happened 5 times in NFL history. The offensive line is going to be an issue going forward, and that was supposed to be an area we weren’t worried about.
Observations
Other than our offensive line apparently staying at home for the entirety of the game, there was another interesting development. Dion Lewis wholly out-snapped Derrick Henry again. Dion Lewis was on the field for 73% of the offensive plays, which came out as 32 plays. Derrick Henry, on the other hand, was only on the field for 27% of offensive plays. Henry getting just 12 snaps is a staggering number that should not be overlooked. Lewis merely has been more productive to this point. Although the game obviously had a hand in this, it’s still something to keep an eye on.
Going Forward
The Titans head to London this week to face the Chargers. Who have to be licking their chops after watching Tennessee give up 11 sacks. My early take on the upcoming game is that the Titans are in trouble. With only a week to figure out what in the world just happened, it’ll be difficult to put it lightly. This is another monumental step backward for this team who was seemingly on top of the world after beating Philly.
