The Tennessee Titans won a football game that counts for the first time since November 2022 on Sunday. It was far from a perfect performance, but it was enough to get the job done.

The Los Angeles Chargers may be the only team that consistently snatches defeat from the jaws of victory more than the Titans. The Chargers had ample opportunity to run away with this game, but the bend-don’t-break defense of the Titans kept Tennessee in it.

Without further ado, let’s go over our 3 takeaways from this game.

The Titans finally have a kicker

Nick Folk is the definition of a reliable veteran. Folk scored the only points for the team in Week 1, hitting 5/5 field goals. In Week 2, Folk went 2/2 on FGs, including hitting the 41-yard game-winner in OT, and made all 3 of his extra points.

I know that doesn’t sound overly impressive or anything, but NFL kicking these days is a crapshoot. Especially for the Titans, who have gone through 136 different kickers since 2019. It feels good to finally have a reliable option when the game is on the line.

Ryan Tannehill bounced back from his horrendous Week 1

Tannehill looked much more like the 2020 Tannehill on Sunday. The QB completed 20/24 passes for 246 yards, 1 TD, and most importantly, no turnovers.

This was a breathe of fresh air after the 3 INT performance in Week 1. And the Titans’ line wasn’t exactly giving Tannehill a ton of time, either. Tannehill was sacked 5 times on the day and still maintained composure and made the throws he needed to make.

It wasn’t a flashy performance, but it doesn’t have to be. If the run game is functioning and the defense plays like we know they can, this type of game from Tannehill is perfectly acceptable.

By the way, that 70-yard completion to Treylon Burks is the best throw i’ve ever seen Tannehill make.

The run defense is fantastic

Whenever opposing teams run the ball, I’m extremely confident that nothing good will happen for said team. The Titans held the Chargers to just 61 yards rushing on 21 attempts, which is good for just 2.9 yards per attempt.

The Titans forced Justin Herbert to beat them by throwing the ball, and the QB couldn’t deliver. I wouldn’t pin this loss on Herbert, though, as he is far from the biggest problem with the Chargers. This was just a tough defensive performance from a unit that came through when it needed to.

I’m not sure anyone has a better defensive line than Denico Autry, Jeffery Simmons, and Teair Tart. All 3 contribute every single week and all 3 help out on pass and run plays. I don’t foresee teams having much success on the ground against Tennessee this season.