Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Revenge Game!! Keys to Victory, #TitanUpTitanDown & Basking in the Undefeated Glory

Episode Date: October 14, 2020

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You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked On Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, this Victory Wednesday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast is brought to you by Visa. Help support your local businesses, whether they're your corner stores, coffee spots, or favorite shops. Local businesses have always been on your

team supporting you and your community. But right now, more than ever, local businesses need our support. So let's be there for them. Next time you go shopping, make the choice to shop at local businesses and look for the contactless symbol and tap to pay with a contactless visa to help support your community because where and how you shop matters. Visa, everywhere you want to be the official partner of the NFL. The Tennessee Titans thoroughly dismantled the Buffalo Bills live in primetime on Tuesday night football to stay undefeated, move to 4-0, and continue to lead the AFC South.

And in the face of unprecedented circumstances and unprecedented adversity, the Tennessee Titans are able to deliver what could be one of the best performances in Tennessee Titans history. And I'm going to be breaking it all down today for you on the Locked on Titans podcast. We are going to go over the keys to victory in a game recap at the beginning of our show. Look back at the keys to victory that I talked about in Monday's preview show and see how those played out, and spoiler alert, they played out very well for the Tennessee Titans in this game, as pretty much everything did.

And then we will move into our individual grading segment. Everyone's favorite, tighten up and tighten down. And I will hand out some individual awards from this victory over the Bills. And we will cap off today's show just basking in the glory of this win a little bit more going over some of the most impressive stats coming out of the game, some interesting quotes that we got from Titans players and coaches coming after the game and taking a look at where the Titans can go from here with a very favorable schedule coming up and going forward.

So a big show on a victory Wednesday for the Tennessee Titans on the Locked On Titans podcast. But a lot more content coming your way throughout the week. I am going to be bringing you Titans content Monday through Friday throughout the entire year and throughout the rest of this week. We are going to have our crossover Thursday conversation with Cody and John from Locked On Texans as we got to get ready for a game in week 6 against a division rival got my Friday preview show

coming this weekend if you listen to last Monday's preview show then you would know you cannot miss the keys to the game that I will be laying out for you against the Texans so make sure that you are subscribed to the Locked On Titans podcast on Apple Podcasts, following on Spotify, Stitcher, or whatever platform you stream your podcast.

And follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans as well for additional content. But we have a huge victory over the Buffalo Bills to talk about on today's Locked on Titans podcast. Keys to the victory, individual grades in Titan Up and Titan Down, and basking in being undefeated. Let's get it! The Tennessee Titans were able to secure a 42-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills by outplaying them in all three phases of the game. First on defense, the Titans set the tone of the day on the very first drive by forcing an interception on Josh Allen as one of his wide receivers dropped a pass off his hands, which Malcolm Butler was able to corral and then take down the field. And what was key there is one of the keys to the game I felt from Monday's episode was

that the Tennessee Titans needed to have a similar game plan as they had against the Mar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs. The Titans needed to rush three and not have an aggressive rush with the front three. They needed to kind of have a mush rush, play very conservatively, not let Josh Allen get out of the pocket, break contain, and use his mobility. Corral him, keep him contained inside the pocket, make him beat you from the pocket, and mistakes will happen. That played out on the very first drive. The Titans capitalized on that with the return of A.J. Brown on offense. He was able to score a touchdown and get the Titans rolling early

but that zone defense was prevalent for the Tennessee Titans throughout the entire game. They consistently forced mistakes by the Buffalo Bills skill position players, also by Josh Allen who was responsible for the second interception of the night for Malcolm Butler. The Titans ultimately forced three turnovers on the night, two of them by the defense, largely in part because they played zone defense against a Bills' talented passing offense. So it helped that the Bills did have a few pieces out, like a John Brown at wide receiver, but the Titans clearly are facing their own set of problems when it comes to having players out of the lineup.

So a great job by the Titans defense playing that zone coverage all night, mixing up those coverages, confusing Josh Allen with zone coverage, not man coverage, and then using their defensive line to have that conservative rush and just not let Josh Allen break the pocket and use his mobility to beat them, which early on in the game when the Titans did let Josh Allen break contain, he was able to make them pay with third down conversions that were a big problem for the Titans defense early on, but they eventually corrected, only allowing six points, one touchdown on one drive in the second half.

The Titans offense also stepped up in a big way with the opportunities that the defense created. The Titans trio of Ryan Tannehill, Jonu Smith, and A.J. Brown were fantastic. Tannehill completed 21 of 28 passes, 75% completion rate for 195 yards and three touchdowns, very similar to his performance in the playoffs. The Titans played a complete game in all three phases, but Tannehill capitalized when it mattered most and threw the football to score for the Titans. A.J. Brown and his return from injury had seven catches, 82 yards, and one touchdown. Six of those catches were for first downs. One was for a touchdown, so pretty fantastic day for A.J. Brown and his return. And Johnnie Smith, although he didn't rack up up a tremendous amount of production made plays when it mattered most for the Tennessee Titans over the middle

five catches 40 yards and two touchdowns Derrick Henry also had a good day wasn't a complete stand out as the Bills dedicated a lot of their attention to stopping Derrick Henry but that opens things up for everybody else so Derrick Henry definitely played his role on the night. But what I want to focus on primarily is the Titans winning the battle in special teams. And one of the keys to the game that I went over in Monday's preview show was that the Titans had to win this field position battle that the Bills had been dominating against their opponents so far this year. The Bills had the second best starting field position on average in the NFL, starting at their 32-yard line, and the Titans were able to hold them to starting field positions of

the 20-yard line, 24, 9, 25, 9-yard line, 25-yard line, 3, 10, and 31. Every single drive that the Bills had on the night, they started below their season average of 32 yards. Then when you flip that over to the other side and you take a look at where the Titans were able to start their drives, they had four offensive drives start inside the Buffalo Bills 30-yard line. One at the 16, one at the 30, one at the 12, and one at the 18. Then you add in the fact that the Titans special teams unit was able to hold down the buffalo bills Return units the buffalo bills had a top 10 punt return unit and a top 10 kick return unit

The titans were able to hold the bills kickoff return unit to six returns for 23 yards and then hold their punt returner To one return for negative one yard. So absolutely fantastic for the Tennessee Titans special teams unit. They also forced that turnover late in the game on the kickoff. So a banner night highlighted by performances by Titans punter Brett Kern, who routinely pin the Buffalo Bills back in their territory and flip the field for the Titans. Also standouts like Nick DeZubnar, linebacker, who's really just a special teams ace. Same with cornerback Chris Milton, who's also just a fantastic special teams player. So the Titans' entire team, complementary football, all three phases, allowed them to dominate the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday night football.

42-16, the Titans are 4-0 and leading the AFC South heading into a week 6 matchup against the Houston Texans. But we are going to zoom in a little bit and take a look at some individual performances for the Tennessee Titans and everybody's favorite segment, Titan Up and Titan Down. So we're going to have a lot more coming up this week as well. Make sure that you subscribe to the Locked on Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream. Also, follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans and let me know who you think should have

been a Titan up and a Titan down. But before we get into that conversation, I want to tell you guys a little bit about Pepsi. This football season will be different and Pepsi is here to get you ready for game day no matter how you watch this season. For me personally, it's on my couch, three televisions, and a 12-pack of Pepsi. Pepsi is the refreshment you need to power through game day and become a member of the League of Football Watchers. These passionate fans are the real generational talent that Pepsi fuels.

Because Pepsi isn't made for those who play the game. It's made for those who watch it. Pepsi, made for football watching. Go to madeforfootballwatching.com to check out the latest football watching content from Pepsi. Tighten up, tighten down. Let's take a microscopic view here as opposed to the first segment and take a look at some of the individual performances

from the Titans' victory over the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday Night Football. And spoiler alert here, there are a lot more tighten ups than tighten downs. But as I mentioned earlier in the show, follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans. Let me know who you think should have been a tighten-up or a tighten-down. So let's jump right in, and I am going to talk about my tighten-ups first. Of course, let's get to all the good that came out of what could be one of the best performances in Tennessee Titans history, especially when you consider the circumstances involved. That's why the first Titan up is just the entire Titans organization. Everyone involved, every single person on the payroll that works in the building

that had to endure all of this. I know me as someone who just covers the team. I got a text message from every Billy, Joe, and Harry that I ever met in my entire life asking me why the Tennessee Titans were ruining the NFL season. So I'm sure that the employees of the organization, including the obvious members, the players, the coaching staff, the scouts, all the people involved in the football operations, I'm sure they were feeling the pressure and feeling the heat as well. So a major tighten up to the entire Tennessee Titans organization, but also to the entire Tennessee Titans fan base.

Quite frankly, it's been such a rough time. As I mentioned, you know, I'm not going to throw a pity party here for people who aren't involved in the team and didn't have, you know, COVID positive tests and all these things. But I'm sure that all of you guys listening as well got sick and tired of the media saying outlandish things about the punishment the Titans would receive all of these fan bases from opposing teams crying for a forfeit saying the Titans players should get punished suspended all

these different things the misleading reports from local journalism I mean it was just a very frustrating time and it had to be even more frustrating for those involved in the organization. So a number one tighten up to the organization, but also the fan base for putting up with all the garbage that the Titans had to over the last two weeks, essentially. And for the Titans to come out and respond this way, it just makes you really proud to be a fan or involved or cover the team or in any involvement whatsoever. The Tennessee Titans is an organization that everyone can be proud of so that's the number one tighten up and you know

that's the the biggest one of all but let's get into some of the players first on the Tennessee Titans offense mentioned it in the first segment but Ryan Tannehill not a crazy day from a yardage perspective but three touchdowns he was dominant in the red zone, 5-5, all three of those touchdowns. 21-28, just made all the plays when it mattered most and led this Titans offense with a steady hand. Derrick Henry didn't have his best day. 19 carries for 57 yards, did have the two touchdowns. But it was Ryan Tannehill who got the Titans that lead

and Derrick Henry who salted it away for them. And that's very indicative of what happened with the Titans in the playoffs last year. And it's no coincidence that that played out from an offensive perspective. When you look at the game plan I mentioned on Monday for the defensive's game plan, schematically saying that it should be like what we did to the Ravens. And this game from a Titans offensive perspective played out in that way not as big of a day for Derrick Henry but he salted it away late when they were stacking the box most of the day Tannehill had a rushing touchdown as well 42 yards I mean he really was everything the Titans needed on the day to supplement things when Derrick Henry wasn't getting things going early on the ground so

Ryan Tannehill fantastic and then his mates catching the ball, A.J. Brown and his return from injury, seven catches, 82 yards, one touchdown on nine targets. As I mentioned earlier, five of those catches were for first downs. One of them was a touchdown. So a great day for A.J. Brown making impactful plays. Jonu Smith, again, didn't have a ton of yardage, but five catches, 40 yards, two touchdowns, just makes all the plays when the Titans need it over the middle, takes advantage of that play action that they do so well. So a great day from that trio on offense, but in reality, everyone on

the offense deserves credit. Jeremy McNichols was able to spell Derrick Henry for a lot of the end of the game and during middle portions of the second half nine carries 28 yards and then you have everyone contributing Khalif Raymond early on two catches 26 yards a big third down conversion on a long third and 19 I believe Anthony Ferkser three catches 19 yards Cody Hollister and Nick Westbrook each had a catch. So everyone played their role so fantastically that needed to to be involved in this victory. Literally every single person on the team essentially did their job when they needed to do their job in their role the most. So a great job.

And then the offensive line. I know that the run game wasn't fantastic throughout the day. They weren't making huge holes. But you know, the Buffalo Bills are a well-coached defense. They were stacking the box with nine people in the box a lot of the time when Derrick Henry was in the game, and that's why you saw Jeremy McNichols get, you know, a lot of carries, nine carries in this game, not just to spell Henry, but just to get the Bills defense to maybe back off a little bit to let the Titans run the ball. And the offensive line had no sacks, just a fantastic performance. Taylor LeJuan was out for a few snaps here, and of course Ty Sambrillo came in.

I'm so comfortable with Ty Sambrillo. I wouldn't want that to be the case for a full season or anything like that, but if Taylor gets a little banged up here and there, I'm comfortable with helping Sambrillo and that being okay. The Titans didn't allow a sack again as an offensive line. They were absolutely incredible. On the defensive side of the ball, incredibly proud and impressed of the front four. Larell Murchison had a great game after having a rough start to the season.

Well, great is a little bit of a stretch, but for the expectations, I had a great game for Larell Murchison. Jack Crawford, Harold Landry played a lot more inside than I was expecting. I was expecting that to be Jadavian Clowney, but it ended up being a lot of Harold Landry. And then Daquan Jones made an impact play in the run game on the very first drive. So got to give a lot of credit to those guys. And I was pretty worried about that part of the defense, the run defense, because of Jeff Simmons being out and Daquan just coming off of the COVID list, but everyone really stepped up in a major way and held this Buffalo Bills offense that had been rushing the ball pretty well throughout the season to under 100 yards,

so under their season average. Pretty impressive day there, and then again, the special teams. Nick DeZubnar, a bunch of plays in the return game. Chris Milton, down in punts for Brett Kern, also making tackles, big tackles on special teams. Brett Kern flipping the field non-stop for the Titans, pinning the Buffalo Bills down behind their 20-yard line. Just fantastic stuff. Like I mentioned, a starting drive on the nine, starting drive on the nine, starting drive on the three, starting drive on the 10. I mean, fantastic day from Brett Kern, who in my opinion is the best punter in the entire league. And then Steven Gostkowski didn't have to save the Titans like he had to do in the first three weeks of the season, but he was incredibly

reliable. Six for six on his extra points. I mean, still not missing kicks. Everything about the Titans was pretty much firing on all cylinders. Kalief Raymond had an excellent return during the game. So just shout out to the Titans special teams. David Long forced that fumble late in the game. Want to give a lot of credit. The Titans played incredible in all three phases. Titan downs. Don't want to spend a bunch of time on the tightened downs. It was pretty much a great game, and I don't want to dwell on any negatives, but the reality is that Chris Jackson struggled for most of the game. He got redemption with a few PBUs, pass breakups throughout the game, but missed a couple sacks early. They were targeting him in the second half with Cole Beasley in the slot,

spreading things out, going five wide and trying to target Chris Jackson. So he still continues to struggle in coverage, but quite frankly, he's being asked to play a role right now because of the injuries in the secondary and Fulton not being able to play in the game that he's just not capable of right now. He needs a little bit more development, but not a great day for Chris Jackson. Same thing, Jonathan Joseph. The Titans ended up taking him out at points and times during this game and playing Ty Smith at outside cornerback because Joseph just simply is having a terrible start to the season. And at his age, the Titans really can't expect him

to be able to play quality football snap after snap. And they most certainly can't expect him to play man coverage at this stage in his career. And then Vic Beasley had a little bit of pressure there at the end. Maybe if you can consider those pressures, I'll see how they grade out on certain websites, but still not overly impressed by Vic Beasley at this time, hoping he would make a little bit more of an impact. Rarely do you see him making a huge impact, so expected a little bit more from him in this game, but you know, Harold Landry is playing

so dang well. He's playing better than Jadavion Clowney, even though Clowney is still playing well. Clowney is so close on so many of these pressures, so close to getting sacks. I mean, literally inches away from having five or six sacks on the year, but next, Darrington Evans got banged up again after a few promising carries, showing some burst. The guy just can't seem to stay healthy. So I don't like to do injuries for a tightened down, but Darrington Evans not being available is a tightened down going forward. And then Ryan Tannehill's celebration after his rushing touchdown

looked like he almost blew out his Achilles or rolled his ankle or whatever. Just calm down, Ryan. Please, please save those for the playoffs buddy and then the early third down defense the Titans were just adjusting to the bill as I get it and they really brought it together in the second half as the Titans have proven that they will do with halftime adjustments the defense deserves a lot of credit and we need to give them their flowers in this game against a great Buffalo Bills offense coming into this game the defense taken a lot of heat and they really stepped up

and looked like the Titans defense at their best moments from last year. So that's an encouraging sign for the Titans. And we are going to talk a little bit more about some encouraging signs for the Titans. I want to tell you guys some quotes coming out of the game that caught my eye, at least one from Ryan Tannehill, some stats coming out of the game that I found pretty interesting. And then also

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GetRoman.com. on. Titans fans, let's continue to bask in the glory of this Tennessee Titans victory with truly the world against them. And the Titans are 4-0 leading the AFC South pretty good schedule ahead of them as well we are going to get into that in just a moment but as we continue to bask in this game I just want to go over a few interesting quotes that came out of the post game so far I'm recording right after the game so there will be more but some that caught my eye and then a couple of stats as well that have caught my eye that I think are important to let you guys know about coming out of like I have said throughout the episode what could be one of the greatest victories in Tennessee Titans history and it makes me think of just a few

short years ago the Titans were off to a pretty good start and they went against I believe it was 2017 they went against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night football, and they got throttled. I think the Steelers won 41-10 or 41-17, something like that, and it was just one of those moments where it was like, yeah, the Titans aren't for real. They aren't a real team. And eventually they went ahead and beat the Chiefs in the wildcard game later that year before losing to the Patriots.

So I guess maybe you could say that they were real ultimately, but it's just one of those moments where the entire football world has their eyes on the Tennessee Titans and they kind of let us down. This game felt like the opposite of that. And when you consider last year against the Bills, when the Titans missed five field goals and lost by seven points, the game against the Broncos that happened, you know, right in this time period last year, it's just incredible that the Titans are here now,

4-0, despite all of this adversity early in the season. And they have a really good shot of doing something special this year considering the circumstances. And I'm going to talk a little bit more about that coming up, but I want to get into some of the great interesting quotes that are coming out of this game I got three of them for you one I had to get in here to talk about this specific play although it didn't count but first Ryan Tannehill had this to say quote personal things were said against our team our guys we were a little ticked off about how we were treated end quote I think that kind of summarizes the feeling in the locker room for the Titans I'm sure Tannehill speaks for everyone in that sense everyone like I mentioned earlier just down the Titans down their fans down the organization they

broke protocol they deserve to be suspended all these things and you know that the entire organization and all the players heard that they get online they see the papers they see the tv shows they hear it from other players they got their buddies texting them asking them questions too so that I thought that was a pretty interesting quote also another one here from Derek Henry asked about that stiff arm on Josh Norman that ultimately didn't count but was a stiff arm that was heard around the social media world and was a pretty fantastic highlight that I'm sure will get replayed despite the fact that it didn't count uh Derrick Henry said he's been doing too many curls he's got to lay off the arms so funny so funny and then also on a less light note Daquan

Jones did say that he just experienced headaches for a few days. And that was really it in terms of his COVID diagnosis. So those were some good quotes that I saw coming out of the game. Also going to get into some interesting stats here that I want to tell you guys about coming out of this victory as well. So from the NFL Research Department, they tweeted out this. So, from the NFL Research Department, they tweeted out this. Tonight, the Titans became the first team to score a touchdown on every red zone possession, minimum six red zone drives, have zero turnovers, and allow no sacks since the Patriots defeated the Bills 56-10 in Week 11 of their undefeated 2007 season. How's that for regression, baby? Like I said, one of the greatest victories in Tennessee Titans history,

not only because of the circumstances, but also because of their just phenomenal performance in all three phases. Another stat that I want to point out is something that I tweeted at Tic Tac Titans. The Titans currently lead the NFL through five weeks in turnover margin at plus eight. I believe they've only had the one turnover, which was Ryan Tannehill's interception. And other than that, the Titans have been absolutely fantastic. Not turning over the ball, forcing turnovers,

and that is going to lead me into this last little segment here where I kind of take a look at what could be ahead for the Titans. So a week six game against the Houston Texans who are 1-4 at this moment in time and are having a terrible season. The Titans should win that game at home. Then a match up against the Pittsburgh Steelers at home, which will be a very difficult matchup. That's not a win for the Titans. The Steelers are a dang good football team themselves, but I think they're

beatable. I think they're beatable. And then after that, the Titans don't get a bye week when they were supposed to against the Steelers, but then they go against the Bengals. Do the Titans need a bye week to beat this Bengals team? I don't think so. So the Bengals in week eight. And then in week nine, the Titans go up against Chicago Bears, who, although they are four and one, is anyone worried about the Chicago Bears? I'm more worried about the Pittsburgh Steelers than I am the Bears.

Now that Bears game is in Chicago. So a very difficult game. But I'm just saying. It's a pretty good four game stretch ahead. Where the Titans could be what? 3-1 in that stretch? 7-1 on the season? Through eight weeks?

Or through nine weeks with the bye? Then you got Colts, Ravens, Colts. Jags, Browns. I mean, I think Lions, Browns is what it truly is, but the Titans could be looking at 9-3, 10-2, 8-4 at worst, 8-4 at worst. I mean, what a fantastic start to the season despite everything that's going on. And as I said during the game, a Mike Vrabel coach team is going to be ready. It's not always going to be pretty, but they are going to be ready. And the Tennessee Titans are ready. And I'm excited to continue breaking down the rest of the season as the Titans are off to fantastic places after a tremendous start.

So make sure that you're locked into the Locked On Titans podcast throughout the entire season as I bring you Monday through Friday fire content on the Titans, in my opinion. Subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. As I've mentioned, follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans. My TicTacTitans film breakdowns are really a pillar of my content and what I do here, breaking down the tape, breaking down the film for you guys, giving you the X's and O's in these TicTacTitans film breakdowns.

And the TicTac4Pack will be out on Thursday. So excited to bring that to you guys, breaking down the four most impactful plays. So that's why you have to follow me on Twitter as well as subscribe to the show. If you like what you hear, please throw up a review in the Apple Podcast section. Been getting a lot of those lately, and I really do appreciate it. Helps get it out to all these other Titans fans and let me know how I'm doing. And if you do give me a review on Apple Podcasts,

I will go ahead and shout you out and read that review on the podcast. So really excited about what is going to come next for the Tennessee Titans, what comes next on the Locked on Titans podcast. Excited to break it all down with you guys. But that is going to do it for me on this Victory Monday. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland. The Tennessee Titans are 4-0, and this was the Locked on Titans podcast.