The Titans went to Ford Field in Detroit this Sunday and pulled off a 16-15 come from behind victory over the Lions to move to 1-1 on the season and stay within a game of Houston for first place in the AFC South, and move ahead of the Colts and Jaguars, who both dropped to 0-2.
The game started in typical Titans fashion. Following a penalty on the kick off (This is why you always take the knee), The Titans moved 64 yards to the Lions’ 29, but DeMarco Murray was stuffed on 2nd and 2, and Mariota was sacked on 3rd down to set up a 51 yard field goal, which Ryan Succop of course missed. After the defense forced a three and out, the Titans were pinned back at their own 5 yard line, and gave up a safety on the first play, with Murray getting hit immediately in his own end-zone after a handoff. Just like that, the Titans were down 2-0 despite outgaining their opponents 58-1.
The Lions quickly added insult to injury by marching 79 yards down the field for a touchdown on a beautiful throw from Matthew Stafford to 46 year veteran Anquan Boldin, and it looked like the Titans were in for a long day. Two more Titans drives into Lions territory yielded only a field goal, and a late second quarter field goal by Detroit gave them a 12-3 lead after a sloppy first half, and it seemed like the only drama in this one would be whether the two teams would break the record for most penalties in a game (they finished 8 short of the record of 37 set by Chicago and Cleveland in 1951).
The second half started just as ugly for the Titans, as their first drive ended on a bad pick for Mariota, who locked onto Rishard Matthews on a pass to the sideline. This was followed by a soul crushing 7 minute Detroit drive that ended in a field goal, and the Lions led 15-3 with only 1:40 left in the third quarter. At this point the Titans offense looked completely feckless, with little rushing threat and no downfield passing game to speak of.
Marcus Mariota and the Titans immediately got back into the game however, with an electric 5 play, 75 yard drive culminating in a 30 yard touchdown from Mariota to Delanie Walker, the Tight End’s first touchdown catch of the year.
With the game again within reach, the D forced another punt, lucking out after Matt Stafford just missed Golden Tate on a deep route. The offense was unable to take advantage however, and the Lions got the ball back, but the Defense forced another punt, and Mariota got the ball back at his own 17 with 7:04 left and a chance to take back the lead.
After Murray went for 10 yards on first down, The Titans faced a 3rd and 5 from the 32, and Mariota found sure handed Tajae “Showtime” Sharp for 7 yards over the middle for a first down. 3 plays later, Mariota again converted on 3rd down, finding Demarco Murray on and out pattern. A 22 yard pass to Murray (who had another good day catching the ball) put the Titans on Detroit’s 25, but with the clock inside 3 minutes it was clear the Titans needed to punch this one into the end zone.
A 10 yard pass to Mathews was followed by a 6 yard run by Derrick Henry, and the Titans were inside the 10. An 8 yard slant to Andre Johnson looked like it put the Titans on the doorstep of victory, but offensive pass interference on an obvious pick play by Matthews sent them back to the 19. Mariota connected on short passes to Murray and Sharpe, setting up 4th and 4 with less than two minutes to go. With the game on the line, Mariota flipped the ball up to the veteran Johnson, who was able to haul it in over two Lions defenders. TOUCHDOWN TITANS! (In the voice of Mike Keith) Despite the subsequent failed 2 point conversion, the Titans had the lead, and a chance for their first victory of the season.
With the ball back in his hand, the always dangerous Matthew Stafford promptly converted a 3rd and 19 to move the Lions near midfield and put Titan’s fans hearts in their throats. But on the following third and 9 Perrish Cox picked off Stafford, and the Titans secured the win with a kneel down by Matt Cassell on his first (and hopefully only) snap of the season.
After only managing 64 yards on the ground against Minnesota in Week 1, the Titans running game came alive on Sunday with 139 yards on 24 rushes for an average of 5.9 yards per carry. The stats were misleading however, as Tennesse still hasn’t been able to control the game on the ground like we expected after DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry joined the team in the offseason. Taking out a 67 yard second quarter run by Murray, the team averaged just over three yards per rush, and were never able to base sustained drives on a pounding rushing attack. Outside of the long run the bright spot was Derrick Henry, who followed up a 3 yard performance in week one with 40 yards on 9 carries. He flashed impressive lateral quickness for a man his size, and looked like a player with a promising NFL career ahead of him.
The passing game came alive in the second half, culminating in a 9-9 performance on the final drive. There is clear improvement in the receiving core from last season, especially in their ability to catch the ball. This innovation, long overlooked by Titan management, is a welcome improvement that should serve to help Mariota’s development tremendously. The game-winning catch by Johnson was the perfect example. Nobody on last year’s roster could make that catch. The Titans still need to work on stretching the field through the air, but this should be improved with the return of Kendall Wright, who is the type of player who can take a quick pass and turn it into a game changing play.
The Defense again looked solid, holding a potent Lions attack th
at torched the Colts to 15 points and only 238 passing yards. The front again looked like an elite NFL unit, largely stuffing the run and sacking Stafford 4 times. The coverage issues we saw in the preseason have yet to come up in the games that count, but the secondary will face a potent Raiders attack next week. One thing I want to see the Defense improve upon is forcing turnovers. The late Cox pick is the only one of the season, and the D will need to make game changing plays if the Titans are going to hang with the better teams in the league.
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