Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Beat New Orleans Saints 23-21: Big Takeaways, #TitanUpTitanDown & AFC Recap!!

Episode Date: November 15, 2021

The Tennessee Titans beat the New Orleans Saints in a close battle on Sunday, winning 23-21. Tyler breaks down the big win!! First, Tyler gives his biggest takeaways and talks how the Special Teams unit won this game. Next, #TitanUpTitanDown for individual performances both good and bad. Finally, Tyler discusses what happened in the AFC over the weekend, where the Titans stand and what's ahead!!Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.GetupsideJust download the FREE GetUpside App and use promo code TOUCHDOWN to get up to 50¢/gallon cash back on your first tank. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, it is a Victory Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. And it may have been an ugly win, but it is a win nonetheless. And I'm breaking it all down for you on this Victory Monday episode of the Locked on Titans podcast. I'm going to tell you my big takeaways on offense and defense and why the Titans special teams is what set them apart in this game. We'll talk individual performances and tighten up and tighten down, and then we'll take a

look at the AFC South all on a Victory Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Lock locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Titans fans, it is a victory Monday. And like I said, an ugly win for the Titans in a street fight with the Saints by a score of 23-21. I'm breaking down everything you need to know from that win on today's show. Before we get into that though, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast

your first listen every day. If this is your first ever listen to the Locked on Titans podcast, you got to make sure that you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. Make sure that you subscribe to the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Smash that notification bell

so you know when all of my content goes live. Follow me on social media, on Twitter, at TicTacTitans for all my film breakdowns, all my film study articles, all that great stuff. Check out the show Facebook page at LockedOnTitansPod. So after all of that being said, we got to dive into this victory again, 23-21 for the Titans. And talking about each side of the ball, on offense, the Titans were disjointed. They couldn't really get anything going throughout the day.

They got off to a sluggish start, punting on their first few drives. They had a few good opportunities throughout the game, though, provided to them by the defense and special teams, and those were opportunities that they took advantage of. The Titans only scored two touchdowns on the day. Both of those started with great field position. The first drive in the first half started on the 44-yard line after the Titans and the Saints were punting back and forth, playing that field position battle that I talked about so much in the game preview.

So the Titans in the first half took advantage of the 44-yard line. Right before the 50-yard line, they were able to drive in and get their first touchdown. But the Titans really got a gift on the opening kickoff of the second half. So the Titans were winning 13-6 going into halftime. On the opening kickoff, the Saints fumbled the opening kickoff. The Titans recover. What a hit by Dylan Cole, who was added to the roster on Sunday.

Just an unbelievable debut game for linebacker Dylan Cole, but he forces the fumble on Deontay Harris. The Titans get it. They start their drive on the 19-yard line, and the Titans' offense is able to score another touchdown, a touchdown pass from Ryan Tannehill to Michael Pruitt. So you start at the 44-yard line. You get the Ryan Tannehill quarterback sneak touchdown.

You start at the 19-yard line. You get the Michael Pruitt touchdown catch from Ryan Tannehill. The Titans offense really couldn't get anything going in the run game. They only had 66 yards, 2.3 yards per carry. They gave up two sacks as well, both of those coming from the left tackle position. It wasn't a great game for the Titans offense, who still looks like they missed Derrick Henry quite a lot, but again, they took advantage of good field position when they had it, and they put 14 points up on

the board, which proved to be enough, just what the Titans needed from the offense. You move to the defensive side of the ball, and it was inconsistent. There's no other way around it. I mean, the Titans had some great moments on defense, not only in coverage, but of course in the pass rush. They held the Saints offense to 5 for 12 on third down. They were 3 for 4 in the red zone, so that's kind of something that you hate to see.

But stop them on a two-point conversion. Get a turnover. I know that that was more special teams than anything, but the Titans defense did enough. They had four sacks on the day. Limited a team, an NFL team, to 21 points, even if you get some help when you play bad. That's, you know, not really.

I don't think that it's a bad day from the defense, just an inconsistent day, I would say. They made plays when it mattered, put the Titans in good positions, played the field position battles. So the Titans' defense did enough, even if it wasn't their best day. But that's kind of the gist of it for everybody on offense and defense. It wasn't their best day, but they made enough plays to win this game and be the better team.

The Titans' pass coverage was really bad on the day, specifically Chris Jackson, who really struggled. But we'll talk more about individual performances and tighten up and tighten down. Special teams, though, is where I wanted to go. My game preview, I said that special teams is going to be more important than ever in this game

because the Saints special teams unit is typically so good. They have great field position all the time. And when you let them win that field position battle, they're going to give you a hard time. Well, guess what? The Titans scored their two touchdowns on good field position, winning the field position battle. Titans were able to make all of their field goals,

three for three on field goals, two for two on extra points. The Saints missed two extra points. That loomed huge. They lost by two. So the Titans winning that field position, the Titans forced a turnover on special teams. I mean, the turnover, the field position, the missed extra points. The Titans won this game on special teams.

There's no way around it. That's exactly what happened. So really good stuff from the Titans special teams unit. They were tremendous on the day. I mean, just a great job. And that's all three phases. That's complimentary football. That's what the Titans talk about all the time.

But we also have to acknowledge a reality here. The Saints shot themselves in the foot in this game. They lost the turnover battle, which was something I talked about as well for the Titans. I did two keys to victory, not even on offense or defense, just team-wide field position and turnovers. And the Titans won both of those battles. So the field position battle was lost by the Saints. It typically isn So the field position battle was lost by the Saints. It typically isn't. The turnover battle was lost by the Saints.

You couldn't afford that with the way the team is rolling right now. The penalty battle was lost by the Saints. The Saints had nine penalties for 65 yards, some of them absolutely disastrous, like the roughing the passer early in the game, which not the best call, but the referees were absolutely terrible. But you know you're going to get that from Jerome Boger's crew. They're the worst in the passer early in the game, which not the best call, but the referees were absolutely terrible. But you know, you're going to get that from Jerome Boger's crew. They're the worst in the NFL.

So the Saints with the turnovers, with the penalties, with the field position, I mean, they shot themselves in the foot. I mean, the last penalty there at the very end where the Saints are going for the two-point conversion to tie up the game, they're at the two-yard line.

They get the false start penalty and pushing them back to the two-yard line. They get the false start penalty. It pushes them back to the seven-yard line, and they don't get it. I mean, sometimes it's the little stuff that everything comes down to, and the Saints, the Titans didn't go out and win the game and take it by the throat, but they didn't lose the game either.

They let the Saints be the team that beat themselves instead of beating themselves. So sometimes in the NFL, it's all about playing your best game. It's about not playing as bad as the other team. And basically the Titans didn't play as bad as the Saints and they were able to win, get themselves to eight and two, still number one in the AFC. So a great victory. We're going to talk more about the AFC in the final segment of today's show, but now we're going to dive into individual performances and everybody's favorite segment, Tighten Up and Tighten Down. I'm going to tell you about the good and the bad performances from the Titans on Sunday. Before we get into that, I do want to tell you

guys about DirecTV Stream. Does this sound familiar? You've got one device that lets you catch the game live, another that lets you stream your favorite shows, you're watching sports highlights on your phone, and you've got your neighbor's best friend's login for the good stuff. Well, I want to tell you there's a simple way to get all the entertainment you love without the hassle. It's a great way to finally get

your TV together. It's called DirecTV Stream, and it brings your live TV and on-demand favorites together like never before. So you can watch your favorite sports movies and shows all in one place. That means no more juggling remotes, no need to buy another device ever again. And the best part, there's no annual contract.

So get rid of the clutter and the confusion and get your TV together with direct TV stream. You can learn more direct tv.com. That's direct tv.com compatible device required content varies by package. Titans fans. We are going to dive back in on this victory Monday edition of the locked on Titans podcast. I just gave you my,

my big takeaways from the game on offense, defense, special teams, kind of the theme of the day that the Saints pretty much shot themselves in the foot. The Titans just didn't do that. The Titans were the better team because they weren't the worst team, if that makes sense. Either way, still want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. But let's continue breaking down this game. We're going to do the individual performances here.

Tighten up, tighten down. And as for the tighten ups, got to give a tighten up to Ryan Tannehill. 19 for 27, 213 passing yards, one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown. He didn't have his best game ever, but I wouldn't say anybody really did other than Marcus Johnson. We'll get to him in a second, but Tannehill had two sacks on him. He was under some pressure in the pocket. Not a lot of weapons out there for the Titans with Marcus Johnson, AJ Brown, not having a great day. Julio's not out there.

The Saints do have a really good defense. I mean, we still have to take that into account. The Saints have a fantastic defense, and they were all over the place, knocking the ball away, getting in Tannehill's face. So, a good job by Ryan Tannehill, just leading the charge constantly. He did almost have that one big blunder thrown, an interception in the end zone. Got bailed out

by the referees on a terrible roughing the passer call, but the Titans will take it, of course. But Tannehill's got to be careful with the interceptions. He's been a little crazy with those lately, but saved on that one. Overall, a good game for Ryan Tannehill since he was able to avoid that red zone interception.

But I want to give a shout-out to Deontay Foreman. 11 carries, 30 yards is not great, but he was definitely the best running back for the Titans on the day. He had two catches for 48 yards, took a big screen pass a long way down the field. So a pretty good day for Deontay Foreman, who clearly, clearly is the most explosive running back the Titans have on the team right now.

That's obvious at the moment in time. Marcus Johnson, we got to get here. He was the player of the day probably for the Titans. Him or maybe Jeffrey Simmons, Dylan Cole. That play was so big, so big. Cannot be stressed. We'll get there, though. Marcus Johnson, five catches, 100 yards.

Again, A.J. Brown was silent in this game. Didn't show up. Just didn't come to play. He didn't even get shadowed by Marcus Lattimore the whole time. So, Marshawn Lattimore. Sorry. I should know that. Ohio State guy.

So, Marcus Johnson picked up the slack. Five catches, 100 yards. Some big plays and big moments for the Titans. 50-yard catch to get him into field goal range. Jeff Swaim, I thought, had a good day as well. Four catches, 26 yards. So, tighten up for Jeff Swaim, I thought, had a good day as well. Four catches, 26 yards, so tighten up for Jeff Swaim. Been putting a few good games together now.

That's three games in a row where he's been pretty good. I thought David Questenberry was pretty solid on the right-hand side in this game. Most of the problems came from the left or the interior. Jeffrey Simmons continues to dominate. Two sacks. He's already surpassed his sack total career high. It's two and then three, five.

He's up to, I believe, six sacks now. Six and a half sacks for Jeffrey Simmons. Dominant. Two tackles for loss. Blocked a pass at the line of scrimmage as well. Naquan Jones. I thought with Tyer Tarr out of this game, Naquan Jones stepped up.

He has been recently the undrafted free agent out of Michigan State. Had a sack, had a tackle for loss. Some good game there. Harold Landry had a sack on the day, had a tackle for loss, had five regular tackles. Good stuff from Harold Landry, a tighten up. Tighten up for Monte Rice. No Rashawn Evans, no David Long in this game.

No problem. Monte Rice, 11 tackles. Had a few big tackles on special teams as well. I mean, there was one drive where he made the tackle on special teams. He gets a tackle on first down on the run game. He gets a tackle on second down and pass coverage for a short

game. I mean, I just thought it was a pretty good game for Monty Rice. He's a rookie. He's got to continue getting better. But overall, I really like what he brought to the table for the Titans on the day. Jack Rabbit Jenkins. He had a couple bad plays in coverage, of course, but three tackles, had a pass breakup. I thought later in the game he really did a solid job.

They hit on him once or twice early in the game, but I really thought he did a good job late in the game. Christian Fulton coming back, had two pass breakups, didn't even throw at Christian Fulton for most of the game. And, I mean, that's all you can hope for. With a great cornerback like that, they're not always going to put up a bunch of stats because coaches know better than to throw their direction over and over again.

So good stuff from Christian Fulton. I thought Elijah Molden also had a pretty good day for the Titans in this game. Coming off the edge. And I guess maybe it's just a comparison to the other slot cornerback for the Titans who really had a disastrous game. Special teams. Dylan Cole again. The special teams forced fumble was just insane. The Titans don't win if they don't get that because the Titans offense was pretty much terrible on the day. So the Titans don't get that to start the

second half because the Saints were able to the Saints scored 15 points in the second half and they didn't even get that drive on the opening half and Sean Payton made great halftime adjustments. So, whew, if the Saints get the ball there just normally, they might be able to go down and get points of any kind, and then the Titans don't win that game. Then it's a huge swing, 10-point swing probably,

a 10-point swing at minimum, 14-point swing at max. So, whew, that was a big one, Dylan Cole. Thank you very much. Randy Bullock again, 5-for-5 on all his kicks, 3-for-3 on field goals, 2-for-2 on his extra points. And when we see the kicker on the other side missing extra points the way that he was, just makes you just thank the heavens for Randy Bullock.

But moving into the tight end downs. Chris Jackson. I mean, he had to have given up 120 yards on the day. Six or seven catches. Oh, man. Oh, man. Just awful. He was just awful.

And, I mean, the Saints were just running typical drag routes and man coverage, and he just could not keep up. He's obviously a little bit banged up, but man, just a really, really terrible game. And if Chris Jackson is getting beat that way, I don't understand why you don't just go with Elijah Molden. You're going to have Molden out there for the rundowns anyway. And if Chris Jackson's giving you that kind of coverage, going to have Molden out there for the rundowns anyway. And if Chris Jackson's giving you that kind of coverage, then just let Molden play. I mean,

buddy, that was a really bad day. Kendall Lamb and Taylor LeJuan, they're the only two guys that gave up sacks. Kendall Lamb came in for one play and just got destroyed by Marcus Davenport. Pushed right back into Tannehill's lap like a child. It was embarrassing.

LeJuan, same thing. Davenport really crushed him on a few rushes. Taylor's just, you know, when he's been himself, he's been good, but it's just been so inconsistent. So a tighten down for the left tackle position in general. Really, tighten down for AJ. Not sure what's going on. He just acts like he's hurt all the time after every catch.

Every time the ball's thrown to him, he rolls around, kind of waits, gets up slow. I don't know what's going on with that there, but no Julio Jones. You're not getting shadowed by Marshawn Lattimore every play. You can't have one catch for 16 yards, man. Just got to be better. Got to be better than that. Did have the one run for seven yards. It was a big help for the Titans in the red zone,

but need more out of A.J. in games like this for sure. Anthony Ferkser has just fallen off a cliff this year. Had a drop, had a big penalty on third down after having a big penalty last week. Had only one catch for two yards. He's really given the Titans nothing. I mean, they would have beat the Jets if he would have caught that pass at the end of the game that was off his hands.

He has just been terrible this year. And thank God Jeff Swaim is kind of getting things going. And Pruitt's been making plays here and there throughout the season because Anthony Ferkser has regressed in a major way and the Titans really have to do something about the tight end position this offseason. I mean, it's not a dire need where I think it's going to ruin the season, but it has to be something that they look to upgrade going forward. But other than that, Bud Dupree and Nate Davis both left the game early with injuries. It's not a tighten down like they play bad, but

it's just bad news, so tighten down. Also, I mentioned it earlier, but Julio Jones was placed on IR on Saturday. He was out the New Orleans game. He'll be out against Houston. He'll be out against New England. Then the Titans have a bye, so it gives him literally a full month to rest his

hamstring. I think that's the smart move. Dane Cruikshank on IR as well. Those are tightened downs. Just, you know, not bad plays, but it's bad stuff for the Titans. And then Jerome Boger. And I say tightened down. It helped the Titans in a lot of situations, but just negative thing. Jerome Boger, just absolutely terrible.

The terrible roughing the passer call on Ryan Tannehill. He had a terrible holding call on Kevin Byard in the red zone as well. They were just a disaster, as Jerome Boger's crew always is, because that's the worst officiating crew, and he is the worst white hat in the NFL. But moving forward, we are going to talk about what else happened in the AFC over the weekend, where the Titans go from here. Before we get into that, I do want to tell you guys

about the best-tasting protein bar ever from our friends over at Built Bar. If you haven't tried a Built Bar by now, you are missing out. They say it's a protein bar, but it really tastes like a candy bar. All the bars are covered in 100% chocolate. When you bite into it, you can tell that you're eating something different because most protein bars are chalky and waxy, hard to chew. Built Bars aren't anything like that. You're going to enjoy them very much, and they have a ton of different flavors.

Something for everybody like the Mint Brownie, the Coconut Almond, the Salted Caramel, which is one of my favorite bars. Make sure that you check their website a ton this month. They're going to have every three to four days. They're going to have new limited time flavors. Make sure you check it out. Use the promo

code LOCKED15 at BuiltBar.com. Once again, that's promo code LOCKED15 at BiltBar.com. Once again, that's promo code LOCKED15 at BiltBar.com. Also want to tell you guys about BetOnline.ag, the number one spot to bet all the basketball and football action this fall. Head to their updated website right now on your desktop or mobile device. Sign up and use the promo code LOCKEDON. That's one word, LOCKEDON.

You're going to get a 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit to place wagers on basketball, football, NHL, boxing, UFC. They even have Vegas casino games, so make sure that you head to betonline.ag today and use that promo code LOCKEDON. BetOnline, where the game starts. Titans fans, let's cap off this Victory Monday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. We talked about my big takeaways from the game, talked about individual performances

in Tighten Up and Tighten Down. Now we are going to talk about what else happened in the AFC and look at the Titan schedule going forward. Before we get into that, though, do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. As for your second listen, make sure that you check out the Locked On Bets podcast hosted by your boy Q and handicapping expert Lee Sterling. They've been on a hot streak going into week 10.

They had been in the plus money 12 out of 14 weeks on their bets on the Locked On Bets podcast. So make sure that you check out the Locked On Bets podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, presented by betonline.ag on whatever platform you do stream. But taking a look at everything that took place, as the Titans head to 8-2, number one seed in the AFC. The Ravens lost on Thursday night football to the Dolphins 22-10.

So the Ravens drop to 6-3. That gives the Titans kind of like a two-game advantage when you look at conference record. Also, the Buffalo Bills, they moved to 6-3 on the weekend. They beat the Jets 45-17, a blowout there. New England coming on strong, and the Titans faced them in just two weeks. They're 6-4 after a 45-7 beatdown of the Cleveland Browns, who are now 5-5. The Indianapolis Colts beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 23-17,

but that's a pretty close game right there. And the Jags are improving. The Jags are getting a little bit better as a team, and the Colts just aren't anywhere near the darlings that everybody wanted them to be. But they still get that win, which means that doesn't help the Titans get any closer to kind of sealing things.

And in a double way, of course, their win against the Saints helped them get closer, but the Saints didn't help the Titans out in any way. So there's that to consider. But overall, a pretty good weekend for the Titans with the Ravens losing. They were their number one contenders

for the number one seed in the AFC. The Raiders are also kind of snooping around in there, along with the Chargers. And the Chiefs could obviously still The Raiders are also kind of snooping around in there along with the Chargers and the Chiefs could obviously still make a run and still kind of turn things around. So the AFC West is kind of a jumble and that helps the Titans because they're all going to beat each other

up, but the Raiders are still playing and recording this during the second window of games. So we will monitor everything throughout the weekend, but that's where the Titans are now as for their schedule going forward. The Titans play the Texans at home next week, so the Titans have to win that game.

That's one of those games that they have to win. Then they'll go on the road and play New England. That's going to be a really tough game. I don't know if the Titans are going to be able to pull that one out right now. If I had to predict it, I think I might give the Titans a loss in that one. New England's playing good football. The Titans aren't playing great football right now, if I had to predict it, I think I might give the Titans a loss in that one. New England's playing good football. The Titans aren't playing great football right now, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

But that's two weeks away. Then the Titans will finally have their bye in Week 13. And God, do they need it. They extended their league-leading number of players used on the roster today. I think they're up to 82 now with the addition of Dylan Cole and Des Fitzpatrick getting to play today for the Titans. So with those two guys playing,

I think the Titans are up to 82 players used now. The second closest was like 69 or 67. So the Titans throughout the injuries continue to plug away. Can't wait for that bye week. Following the bye week, they'll be on the road against Jacksonville and then, or no, it's a home game the injuries continue to plug away. Can't wait for that bye week. Following the bye week, they'll be on the road against Jacksonville.

And then, or no, it's a home game against Jacksonville. My apologies. And then they'll be on the road against the Steelers. That's going to be a really, really tough game, even though the Steelers aren't a great football team. It's just tough to play in Pittsburgh. Then they come out of that. They play San Francisco at home. They play Miami at home.

And then they play Houston on the road. So the way I see it, this was an X factor game for the Titans and they won. they play San Francisco at home, they play Miami at home, and then they play Houston on the road. So the way I see it, this was an X-Factor game for the Titans and they won. New England is an X-Factor game. I think San Francisco is an X-Factor game. I think the Titans should win the other games that, well, let me do this. I think the Titans should beat Houston twice. They should beat Jacksonville and they should beat Miami. That's four. I think they'll should beat Houston twice. They should beat Jacksonville, and they should beat Miami. That's four.

I think they'll probably lose to Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh. I think they'll lose to New England as well right now. That's kind of what I'm calling. I mean, maybe you think the Titans win out and just win all their games, and they only lose two games all year. Going forward, I just can't bet on that. Four losses, 13-4. I think that still gets you the number one seed in the AFC.

So if the Titans lose to New England, they lose to Pittsburgh, but they beat San Francisco. San Francisco, New England, Pittsburgh going forward, those are the games to watch because I think the Titans should win their other games. And if they can win all of those and just go 15-2 on the year, well, by golly, that'll be absolutely outrageous. And I am here for it, ladies and gentlemen.

I am here for it. But that's going to do it for me today. It's a Victory Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. I'm going to be back with you guys tomorrow. I'm going to go over some numbers, look at some storylines. We always use Tuesday to kind of collect our thoughts before we go into the Rewatch Wednesday episode in the middle of the week to break down the film.

Thursday will be a crossover Thursday with Cody and John from Locked on Texans. Friday, I'll be back with a game preview. And then a week from today, back for another big breakdown, hopefully Victory Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. So that's going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was

Locked on Titans.