Titans fall to Saints in opener: Instant takeaways
The Tennessee Titans again lost a season-opening game, falling to the New Orleans Saints by a score of 15-16. Ryan Tannehill played one of the worst games you’ll ever see from a starting NFL QB, finishing the day with 0 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and just 198 yards.
There aren’t very many positives to take away from this one, so let’s just get right into it.
Ryan Tannehill performed miserably
Ryan Tannehill was abysmal in every facet of the game on Sunday. He looked scared and uncomfortable, didn’t move like he used to, and made horrible decisions. All three of his INTs were terrible. He clearly didn’t trust his line, even though I didn’t think they played horribly.
If you’re making $30M a year, you have to perform better than this. Hell, if you’re making $3M a year you have to perform better than this. The defense played well enough to win yesterday, but of course, they were going to break eventually after the offense couldn’t cut them a break.
Mike Vrabel said this loss “isn’t about one guy,” but I say, Nay. This loss is definitely about Tannehill. A wide-open Chig Okonkwo and a wide-open Tyjae Spears were both missed for what would have likely been touchdowns. Three turnovers and at least two missed TDs are just going to be too much to overcome in the NFL.
The Defense is going to keep the team in games.
It’s hard to find many negatives for the Titans’ defense after Week One. The unit only allowed 282 passing yards, which is amazing when compared to 2022. The rushing defense was even better, allowing just 69 yards. Jamaal Williams had a whopping 18 carries but ended with just 45 yards.
Derek Carr was sacked four times and not one of these was by Harold Landry III, which is encouraging. In 2021, if Landry wasn’t getting the sack, nobody was. That does not appear to be the case this year, as Arden Key is already looking like a fantastic signing.
The offense, in general, is a discombobulated mess
Surprisingly, I was encouraged by some of the formations and play calls. It wasn’t those things that irritated me, it was the situations in which these plays were used and the execution.
For example, I loved the fact that Spears saw the field at the same time as Derrick Henry. The more playmakers you have on the field, the better. I also liked that an effort was made to get Spears involved in the passing game. However, thanks to Tannehill’s horrendous day, the end result was no different than the vanilla 2022 offense. It doesn’t matter how cute you get with the play-calling if your QB can’t hit on a simple wheel route.
The decision to not run Henry more in the second half was mind-boggling. The Saints continued to run with Williams and he was nowhere near as effective as the Titans and Henry.
Also, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine seeing more snaps than DeAndre Hopkins is inexcusable. Unless it’s a preseason game, NWI should never be more involved than Hopkins.
In Conclusion
Is the season over already? No, it’s not. There were definitely more negatives than positives, though, and many of the same problems from years past popped up again.
I’m still a week or two away from calling for Levis or Willis to start. I think this division is easily winnable and I can’t foresee throwing the towel in anytime soon. However, if Tannehill continues to play like he has severe brain damage, it might be time to see what the young guys can do eventually.