Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Overtime Thriller Over Texans: Game Recap, #TitanUpTitanDown & AFC Recap

Episode Date: October 19, 2020

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The stars shine bright for the Tennessee Titans as they move to 5-0 with a 42-36 overtime victory over the division rival Houston Texans. And I'm going to be breaking down everything from an insane game today on the Locked On Titans podcast. First, we are going to recap the game. Go over all of the biggest moments. And take a look at some of the gaudy stats that the Titans were able to put up during the course of this victory. And then we will move into our individual grades and everyone's favorite segment, Tighten Up and Tighten Down. So excited to go over each individual player's performance with you guys, the good, the bad, and everything in between.

the good, the bad, and everything in between. And then we will cap off today's show with a little bit of a recap of what took place in the AFC South on Sunday. Update you on what the division looks like that the Titans currently sit atop of. And, of course, update you on any additional news that comes down the way after the game, injury updates, anything we can get our hands on. So, just, again, basking in being undefeated, the Tennessee Titans currently sit at 5-0 after an incredible victory over the Houston Texans.

So a lot to talk about today, but it's not just today's episode. We have a lot to break down throughout the rest of the week. Tuesday will be Tick-T Tac Tuesday. I'll be bringing you my Tic Tac four-pack, the four most impactful plays from the Titans victory over the Texans and breaking those down from a schematic standpoint, giving you everything from an X's and O's perspective. Make sure that you follow me on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans as well so you get that visual breakdown I will be putting out to go along with the Tuesday episode.

Wednesday will be re-watch Wednesday. I'll be giving you all of my additional analysis and extra information from re-watching the coaches' film multiple times throughout the week. Thursday, we will be previewing the big matchup that lies ahead for the Titans against the undefeated Steelers with Chris from the Locked on Steelers podcast. So crossover Thursday coming up as well. And then, of course, a Football Friday game preview will be coming your way on Friday

to get you ready for the Titans next game. So make sure that you subscribe to the Locked on Titans podcast on Apple podcast, follow on Spotify, Google podcast, Stitcher, whatever platform it is. Make sure that you're locked in to the Locked on Titans podcast. But we have a big overtime victory to break down. My recap of the game, some of the biggest moments, individual grades in tighten up and tighten down, and then recapping everything that took place around the NFL on Sunday.

Let's get it! The Titans moved to 5-0 on the year after a 42-36 overtime victory over the Texans, and the Titans got off to a hot start. They were using heavy tight end packages to get the Texans' base defense on the field so that the Titans' talented tight ends in Anthony Ferkser and Jonu Smith could take advantage of matchups against the Texans' linebackers who were vulnerable in pass coverage. The Titans were able to utilize this strategy en route to a 14-0 lead early on in the game.

On defense, the Titans were using mixed-up zone blitzes and mush rushes, keeping Deshaun Watson in the pocket to stymie the Texans' offense early. But in the second quarter, the Texans offense led by quarterback Deshaun Watson did start to get into a groove and utilize a tight end in the red zone to get the Texans on the board, making it 14-7. The Titans were able to respond, though, and capitalize once again on Anthony Ferkser and Adam Humphreys as they were able to move the chains and matriculate the ball down the field, culminating in an Adam Humphreys touchdown, putting the Titans

up 21-7. But Deshaun Watson kept rolling, got the Texans offense down the field for a late field goal right before halftime to make it 21-10 heading into the second half. The Titans came out into the third quarter and things were going well early on. The Titans forced a punt on the Texans opening drive of the half and the Titans offense was driving the ball down the field on the Texans defense again. The Titans got a field goal situation and this is where the game turned. A poor block by Jack Crawford on a field goal attempt by Steven Gostkowski led to a Texans field goal block. The Texans used this change in momentum to drive down the field. They

started with a big tight end catch on a wheel route on a blown cover two by the Titans defense. Then a long defensive pass interference call on Christian Fulton led to a touchdown for Texans running back David Johnson changed the tenor of the game and left the score 21 to 17 then the Titans injuries started to mount Taylor LeJuan left the game Johnnie Smith left the game in the third quarter it changed what the Titans were able to do on offense by utilizing those heavy tight end packages and then the Texans because the Titans had to change their offensive game plan and were missing a start in linemen, the Texans started playing man coverage on defense,

started bringing heavy pressure in Ryan Tannehill's face. This led to a J.J. Watt strip sack on Ryan Tannehill. The Texans recovered in the Titans' red zone and were able to punch it in for another touchdown on a blown assignment and man coverage in the red zone giving the Texans their first lead of the game 23-21 after their kicker did miss an extra point which ended up looming large. The Titans come down on offense and miss another field goal, this time not a block, but just a general missed field goal as all the momentum was lost.

But then when the Titans needed it most, defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons forces a punt with a big sack. The punt goes down to the Titans' 6-yard line, and then the superstar Derrick Henry returns the favor for the Titans with a 94-yard touchdown score to put the Titans back up 29-23. The Texans respond immediately as Deshaun Watson is on fire at this point in time. Takes them two plays to go 75 yards, culminating in a Will Fuller touchdown pass, a deep touchdown pass where Malcolm Butler made a mistake in coverage

playing a deep half cover two zone. So at this time, the Texans are back up 36-29 when Romeo Cornell, their interim head coach, rather than taking an extra point and going up by 8, 37-29, decides to try to go for two and put the Texans up by nine, sealing the victory. The Texans do not get the two-point conversion as Jeffrey Simmons makes another impact play and bats down the ball, leaving the Titans only down by seven. Ryan Tannehill is then surgical, leads the Titans all the way down the field in the two-minute drill,

culminating with a game-tying touchdown pass to A.J. Brown, Brown's second of the day. The Titans get the overtime toss. They get the ball, march all the way down the field, and then Derrick Henry, who was amazing during the game, caps off the victory with a five-yard touchdown run to end the game, leave the Titans at 5-0 with an overtime victory, 42-36 over the Texans. Just an incredible victory for the Tennessee Titans. And later in the show, I'm going to talk a little bit more about

just how important this victory was. But next, we are going to take a look at some individual performances, both good and bad, from the Titans' victory over the Texans in everyone's favorite segment, Tighten Up, Tighten Down. And make sure that you follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans and let me know who you think should have got a Tighten Up and Tighten Down. And also subscribe to the Locked On Titans podcast for more Monday through Friday Tennessee Titans content.

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But let's start with the positives here. Titan up, and the Titans got some major performances from their biggest stars. Of course, Ryan Tannehill, 30 for 41 on the day, 364 yards, four touchdowns, one interception, did have one fumble as well, but an incredible day and lit it up when it mattered most for the Titans late in the game when they absolutely had to have a score to force overtime. He completed 10 passes to different receivers, so Tannehill was spreading it all over the yard

and getting it done when it matters most, as I mentioned. The last drive, he was hitting throws with pressure in his face, putting balls into tight windows. Just an absolutely excellent day from Ryan Tannehill despite the turnovers. Also, how could you not talk about the king? Derrick Henry, 212 rushing yards, two touchdowns, including the game winner, two catches for 52 yards.

The majority of those receiving yards coming on that final drive, catching that swing pass out in the flat and taking it down the sideline to put the Titans in position to score that game-winning touchdown. Absolutely fantastic day from Derrick Henry. And exactly why you pay that man his money.

Also, at the running back position, Jeremy McNichols. A fantastic day. Five carries, 51 yards, including a 15-20 yard rush in between the two Derrick Henry plays that got the Titans down within the 10 yard line. So a great day for Jeremy McNichols. Not only that, he caught two passes for 11 yards. One of them going for a first down. And he was excellent in pass protections.

The Titans lost Taylor LeJuan in the third quarter. They lost John U. Smith. That's going to hurt the pass protection. And Jeremy McNichols stepped up and was assignment sound and really kept Tannehill upright during the back half of that game when the Texans were really trying to put the pressure on with man coverage blitzes. Also, A.J. Brown, the Titans' third star on offense. Five catches, 56 yards, two touchdowns, including the game-tying touchdown

with four seconds left in the fourth quarter. Fantastic. He wasn't the only pass catcher who had a great day. Anthony Ferkser just absolutely stepping up when it counts with Jonu Smith out of the game. He had eight catches, 113 yards yards one touchdown on nine targets eight catches out of nine targets Ryan Tannehill just finds Anthony Ferkser whenever he needs to move the chains speaking of moving the chains another guy who consistently moved the chains for the Titans on third and longs finding holes in the zones was Adam Humphries this season he is doing exactly what John Robinson paid him to do starting last season, but we're seeing it now, that chemistry with Ryan Tannehill building

for Adam Humphreys. Six catches, 64 yards, one touchdown on six targets. Throw the ball to Adam Humphreys, you'll get a completion, you'll get yards, and you'll keep the chains moving. That wasn't it. Going to the offensive line, I thought the offensive line did a decent job in general. A lot of the pressure that was coming late was things that the Titans really couldn't do much about. The Texans were sending five, sending six. Tyson Brillo's out there. They're trying to give him help. Keith McNichols over to his side and he was having trouble with J.J. Watt, admittedly, but I thought on the offensive line they did a decent job. Nate Davis specifically stuck out.

He was fantastic and moving guys all over the field. I thought on that Derrick Henry 94-yard touchdown run, he was absolutely fantastic. Nate Davis really put in extra effort, finished his guy on his block, and opened up that hole for Henry to get that long run. A great day for Nate Davis, in my opinion, along the offensive line. And then on defense, there weren't a lot of tighten ups for me on defense, but I thought Harold Landry was incredibly impactful. Five tackles, one tackle for loss. He didn't get a sack on the play, but he also took Watson down for a minimum gain when he was getting ready to scramble out of the pocket. So I thought Landry had a fantastic day.

Also, Simmons, four tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss. The big pass breakup on the two-point conversion that put the Titans in a position to tie the game. Daquan Jones, three tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss on the day. I thought the Titans' interior defensive linemen were fantastic. And that's why you want to get those guys back in the lineup. That's why I was so concerned going into the Bills game that the Titans wouldn't have a cohesive defensive line with Daquan just coming off the COVID list

and then Jeff Simmons not being there. Of course, it didn't end up biting them, and it doesn't bite them here. Only give it up 92 rushing yards to the Houston Texans. I thought it was a great day for the Titans interior defensive line. Just a bad day for the secondary all the way around and with that in mind let's get into some Titan downs here. Have some Titan downs for you. Have quite a bit for a game that the Titans won but I thought Dennis Kelly really struggled against J.J. Watt. Some people were blaming Nate Davis not getting reach blocks. I don't see that for me.

Nate Davis and Dennis Kelly had some combo block opportunities and Dennis Kelly didn't hold up his end of the bargain, didn't allow Nate Davis to get in position to finish off those blocks. He got beat a few times by J.J. Watt. Now some of that is he's going up against J.J. Watt but Dennis Kelly is going to have to be a solid rock for the Titans now if Taylor LeJuan does miss a ton of time and going to be breaking some news for you guys later in the show on that injury, but Dennis Kelly didn't have a great day. J. J. Watt's a great player though, so don't want to kill him completely here. That's a

tough matchup. Of course, good enough day for Dennis Kelly, but thought it could have been better. And then on the defensive side of the ball where we're going to spend most of the time during the Titan down section, talking about the defense and the Titans really struggled, especially in the secondary. Kevin Byard has not been himself this year, really struggling in zone coverage, struggling with missed tackles. Malcolm Butler continues to get hunted. And while he wasn't terrible on the day, he definitely was struggling keeping up with some of the Texans' faster wide receivers. He absolutely blew that cover, too, on the deep Will Fuller touchdown. That was his deep half to cover, and he was caught looking inside at Deshaun Watson rather than finding the streaking Fuller going down the side

of the field. He also gave up a touchdown to Brandon Cooks in man coverage. Speaking of giving up touchdowns, Christian Fulton really struggled, gave up a TD on the sideline to Randall Cobb during the scramble drill in the red zone, had a defensive pass interference to put the Texans in position to score one of their touchdowns, a long defensive pass interference, so not a great day for Fulton either. The Titans really struggled with the Texans' speed at wide receiver. I also thought Jack Crawford, while not having a terrible day on defense,

he was the person responsible for that blocked field goal that really changed the entire game. He took the outside guy rather than blocking the inside guy. Didn't think it was great effort whatsoever, quite frankly, from Jack Crawford in that special team situation. So really disappointed with his effort there. Gostkowski had a field goal block missed a field goal on his own as well 0 for 2 on field goals for the day not a great performance for Gostkowski but gonna give him a pass with his early season heroics that got the Titans in this position and then my final Titan down well my final Titans Titan down is Vic Beasley uncertain

of the snap count right now but didn't see him out on the field a lot in the game, thinking that Derek Roberson may have more of an impact for the Titans once he gets healthy and is able to play. But Vic Beasley looking like a waste of money. Low snaps, no stats, not a lot of good effort from Beasley out there, in my opinion, as well. Going to review the tape to make sure. But a Titan down for Vic Beasley as a signing for the Titans organization. Him as a player, just not really getting it done for the Titans. And

then the last Titan down is actually a Titan up for the Titans, but how did Romeo Cronel decide to go for two to put the Texans up nine rather than just putting them up eight? I mean, that is getting way too fancy. Cronel cost the Texans, in my opinion, an opportunity to get a win there. You take the field goal, you put your team up eight, you force the Titans to not only score a touchdown, but convert a two-point opportunity as well to get it into overtime. He bailed the Titans out by going for two in that circumstance, not getting the two-point conversion, which Jeffrey Simmons batted the ball down and had the tip pass and then left the Titans only down seven, and they were able to take advantage.

So a tighten down for Romeo Cornell. That's actually a tighten up for the Titans. But that is going to do it for tighten up, tighten down. Like I said, let me know on Twitter, at TicTacTitans, if you agree or disagree with any of my selections there. We are going to move into an AFC South recap, take a look at some other AFC conference opponents as well. And then also I have some very, very unfortunate injury

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and with some of the top conference rivals the Titans should be looking at in the AFC South and with some of the top conference rivals the Titans should be looking at in the AFC. Also going to give you guys some interesting stats and some interesting perspective as we head off into our Mondays and then at the end of this segment going to break some unfortunate injury news for you guys so I will save that for the end but let's get into this recap of what happened in the AFC South and beyond first the Colts were able to beat the Cincinnati Bengals which that's what everyone would have expected going into this game but it's incredibly unfortunate the Bengals had the Colts down 21 to nothing in the first half. They had them on the ropes, but the Colts were able to have an awesome comeback effort.

End up beating the Bengals, overcoming another fourth quarter interception for Phillip Rivers that I thought could be a backbreaker, but the Bengals are just a terrible team. They're absolutely god-awful, and they let the Colts come back. The Colts now sit at 4-2. They could have been at 3-3. It would have been a great position for the Titans, but of course, counting on the Bengals won't get you very far. So the Colts are able to beat the Bengals in a big comeback attempt, 31-27 to move to 4-2 on the season. They are currently in second place in the AFC South. The Jags continue to crash back down to reality

after that week one upset victory over those Indianapolis Colts. They lose to the Detroit Lions 34-16, and they are now 1-5. The Jags are basically out of it for the season. They probably need to focus their efforts on tanking to try to have an opportunity to get Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields or Trey Lance or some of the other QBs on the market.

Garner Minshew, while being a decent option, clearly is not the quarterback of the future. So good to see the Jags coming back down to reality. And then some other results I just wanted to throw in here for you guys. The Pittsburgh Steelers dismantled the Cleveland Browns, win 38-7. They remain undefeated at 5-0, and the Titans have an opportunity to take on Pittsburgh coming up this week. So two undefeated teams at 5-0 taking on each other later in the week. That'll be an exciting game to preview, so make sure that you're locked in to the Locked On Titans podcast, rather.

And then also, the Baltimore Ravens and the AFC North, who the Titans will meet later on in the season, were able to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 30-28. They are 5-1, so the Kansas City Chiefs will play the Buffalo Bills on Monday. That's another game that Titans fans need to have their eye on. Two AFC contenders right there, but that's kind of what took place for the Titans. The AFC contenders continued to win. The AFC South is still competitive with the Colts getting a comeback victory over the Bengals, but now the Houston Texans are 1-5, the Jags are 1-5, and they are most likely done competing for the playoffs this

season. Moving into some interesting stats here and some interesting perspective, the Titans went for 601 offensive yards in this game. It is the most in franchise history, besting a 1991 performance by the Oilers where they went for 583 yards. So yes, 601 offensive yards total is the most in Titans or Oilers franchise history. Also, the Titans ran the ball for 263 yards. The Texans ran the ball for 92.

That is an incredible disparity in the run game. And also, Derrick Henry had 264 total yards himself. The New York Jets on Sunday, playing against the Miami Dolphins, had 263 yards. So Derrick Henry out out gained the New York Jets in this game. Absolutely fantastic. And then finally just some perspective here. I want to talk about what this means for the Titans. The Titans had two turnovers. Lost the turnover battle.

Had a fumble and had a pick. They lost the penalty battle 7-4. They tied the sack battle 2-2, gave up two sacks. One of those was a forced fumble though, so a big sack. They missed two field goals and they gave up 400 yards on offense to the Houston Texans and still found a way to win this game. Johnnie Smith was out in the early third quarter. Taylor LeJuan went out.

Corey Davis was still out. The Titans are still without Adoree Jackson. All of these odds going against them, all of this adversity against them, coming off of a short week after not having practiced. Their bodies are probably beat up, very sore after that game against Buffalo, playing all pure adrenaline.

Just amazing that the Titans were able to gut out this victory despite not having the best performance good teams win when they don't play well the Titans didn't play great in this game they didn't play bad but they didn't play great and they still found a way to secure victory this is a huge win for the Titans in the AFC South and if the Titans are resting their starters in Houston in week 17 we can look back to this game and that the Titans were able to get this overtime victory despite playing very poorly in the second half on defense. It's a huge win for the Titans, especially with a difficult schedule ahead for them that

includes the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cleveland Browns, two games against the Colts, and a game against the Baltimore Ravens. So some tough games ahead for the Titans. This was a big victory at home. Now, I do have to report some unfortunate news for you to end off today's show. I hate ending on a negative note, but this news did just come over the waiver wire, and it does have to do with one of the Titans' injuries during the game. It appears that Tennessee Titans starting left tackle Taylor LeJuan has torn his ACL

and will be out for the season. A devastating blow for the Titans' offense that was really hitting on all cylinders. Now Ty Sambrillo will enter the lineup. It'll alter the way the Titans play offense. They'll have to give Ty Sambrillo tight end help they'll have to give him running back help they'll have to keep more guys in formation and less guys out into you know passing routes we saw a version of the Titans offense like this last year with LaJuan out now obviously it's a different situation with Tannehill at quarterback than Marcus so we'll

see how that goes but this is definitely a big blow to the Titans. And it shines a light even further on the fact that Isaiah Wilson is a complete negative at tackle after being a first round pick. In theory, you would be able to move Dennis Kelly over to left tackle and then have a first round pick offensive tackle at right tackle. But Isaiah Wilson's nowhere close to being ready. He was inactive on game day. The DUI, the two stints on the COVID list, some of the off-field rumors and things that you hear going around town, it's just very disappointing that he's not ready to contribute to this team.

Hopefully, maybe later in the season, Isaiah Wilson will be ready to slot in at right tackle, move Kelly over to left tackle, and that'll be a better situation than Tyson Brillo at left tackle. Although I will say Tyson Brillo hasn't been a complete disaster in my opinion, but it does just change the way the Titans will have to play offense and having to account for giving him help at all times. So a major blow to the Titans and even bigger blow, a bigger spotlight on the fact that

Isaiah Wilson is a complete ghost for the Titans offense after being a first round pick. So hopefully he gets ready to go, but this is definitely unfortunate news for the Titans and they'll have to rebound quickly as, like I mentioned, the schedule does not get any easier from here for the Titans. But that is going to do it for today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We'll be back with a Tic Tac Tuesday where I have the Tic Tac 4-pack going over the four most impactful plays from the Titans win over the Texans. Going to be breaking them down from an X's and O's perspective

and marrying that together with a visual breakdown, a film breakdown for you guys on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans. So make sure you're subscribed to the Locked On Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream so you don't miss any of the content I will be bringing Monday through Friday throughout the entire season. But that's going to do it for me today. Your Tennessee Titans are 5-0 undefeated and sitting at the top of the

AFC South. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland and this was Locked on Titans.