NASHVILLE – The Titans lost 26-3 to the Texans on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
Senior Writer and Editor Jim Wyatt takes a look at six things that stood out from Sunday's contest:
Underwhelming Offense
The Titans have been tough to watch on offense this season, and Sunday was the low through five games. The Titans failed to score a touchdown against the Texans on a day when the offense had more sacks allowed (4) than points scored (3). After a nine-play, 53-yard drive that produced a field goal at the start of the game, the next eight drives looked like this: Punt, Fumble, Interception, Punt, Punt, Punt, Turnover on Downs, Turnover on Downs. There were turnovers, penalties, drops, missed blocks, and errant throws. Through five games, the Titans are averaging 11.6 points per game this season. If you're looking for reasons why this team is 0-5, this is probably why. If you're looking for reasons why it hasn't been better, well, get in line.
The Dam Finally Broke
The Titans were playing without starting safety Amani Hooker, and his backfield mate Kevin Winston Jr. had to be shut down right out of the gate with a quad injury. The Titans plugged in Tony Adams, Terrell Burgess and Isaiah Oliver at safety, and I thought all those guys battled, and played physical. The offense put the defense into some tough spots with turnovers, and the defense kept holding the Texans to field goal goals early. But eventually the dam broke, as Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for two second half touchdowns. Houston's 17-play, 73-yard drive was a killer for the beleaguered defense, which is being forced to play close to perfect football on Sundays. As we saw again this Sunday, that's just not a formula that is going to end well most of the time.
Penalties
At the half, I jotted down what a clean 30 minutes the Titans had from a penalty standpoint, as the team didn't commit a single infraction. But things changed in the second half, when the Titans were flagged seven times for 83 yards. Some of the penalties wiped out big plays. Left tackle Dan Moore Jr. was whistled for three of the penalties – two holds, and a false start. Moore's hold wiped out a 32-yard completion to receiver Carnell Tate. Later, a holding call on center Austin Schlottmann wiped out a 35-yard completion to running back Tyjae Spears. It seems like everything snowballed on the Titans on Sunday, including penalties.
Turnovers
I know I touched on the turnovers at the start, but I'm circling back on them again because they're beginning to pile up and become a real eyesore. Ward's end zone interception against the Giants was a killer, just like the two costly turnovers in Baltimore. On Sunday, Spears lost a fumble on the team's third possession, and Ward was intercepted on the fourth series. The mistakes killed any chance of the Titans building some early momentum on offense, and it led to the defense being on the field way more than it needed to be. The Titans are a struggling football team right now, and they're making it harder on themselves with their own mistakes.
Security Guard Goes Down, Bounces Back Up
I'm going to take a break from the doom and gloom in here for a security guard shoutout. I have to give props to the field security guard in the south end zone on Sunday for being locked in, and for bouncing back up on a play when he was table-topped in the second quarter. On a deep ball from Stroud to Texans receiver Nico Collins, Titans safety Terrell Burgess, while defending against Collins, slid under the security official beyond the field of play, and knocked him off his feet. The blue-shirted man, fell on his rear end, which was partially exposed when he stood up. I guess it was appropriate that it happened right in front of the EndZoneBoyz...
More Protection Was Needed
The Titans didn't do a very good job of protecting Ward, and it led to him getting pummeled down the stretch. As mentioned previously, Ward was sacked four times in the game, but he was hit seven times overall. Texans defensive end Will Anderson sacked Ward three times, and defensive end Danielle Hunter sacked him once. A few of the hits late were violent. The Titans put themselves in this position because they were predictable down the stretch, forced to drop back and throw it again and again because of the deficit. After allowing just six sacks through the first four games of the season, protection became a problem on Sunday. Dan Moore Jr. acknowledged he didn't play well, but again, this was an offensive problem, and everyone should share in the blame.
