Two weeks in a row the Titans have won despite not doing much offensively. I don’t think that’s sustainable. They’ve got a good defense, but I don’t think they can be an actual contender in the AFC unless they figure out how to move the ball better.
The first two games without Derrick Henry have been underwhelming – for the offense, at least. They managed only 194 yards at Los Angeles, winning that game with the help of a standout defensive performance.
Sunday, facing a wounded Saints team, they squeezed out a 23-21 win at home despite gaining only 264 yards. They got a couple of key plays and calls, hanging on at the end.
Only 15 times this year has a team won a game with fewer than 270 yards of offense. The Titans have done it two weeks in a row.
| WINNING WITH FEWER THAN 270 YARDS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Opp | Week | Result | Tot |
| Tennessee | at LAR | 9 | 28-16 | 194 |
| Chicago | CIN | 2 | 20-17 | 206 |
| Jacksonville | BUF | 9 | 9-6 | 218 |
| Seattle | JAC | 8 | 31-7 | 229 |
| Seattle | at SF | 4 | 28-21 | 234 |
| Kansas City | GB | 9 | 13-7 | 237 |
| NY Giants | LV | 9 | 23-16 | 247 |
| Chicago | at LV | 5 | 20-9 | 252 |
| New Orleans | at NE | 3 | 28-13 | 252 |
| Pittsburgh | at BUF | 1 | 23-16 | 252 |
| Miami | at NE | 1 | 17-16 | 259 |
| New England | at NYJ | 2 | 25-6 | 260 |
| Miami | HOU | 9 | 17-9 | 262 |
| Tennessee | NO | 10 | 23-21 | 264 |
| Cincinnati | at PIT | 3 | 24-10 | 268 |
To hold onto homefield advantage, I think, the Titans need to find something that works offensively. That doesn’t seem super likely. D’Onta Foreman (pictured) popped a couple of runs on Sunday, but he doesn’t look likely to save the running game. He’s been better the last two weeks than Adrian Peterson and Jeremy McNichols, at least.
With the passing game, they’ve got A.J. Brown, but the Saints were able to squat on him, holding him to one catch. Julio Jones is on IR with the hamstring injury that’s plagued him for most of the season. Marcus Johnson stepped up with 100 yards against New Orleans, but he doesn’t look likely to emerge as a reliable option. And they’re using a mixture of modest tight ends.
Overall, I just don’t see enough there. With a modest schedule, Tennessee reasonably could hang onto that No. 1 seed, but I don’t expect they’ll be playing in the AFC Championship game.
—Ian Allan
Statistics compiled using search tools at Pro-Football-Reference.com