All-22 Review: Titans Offense vs Broncos Defense

The All-22 Review is BACK for a 4th straight Titans football season. We are obviously on a new and improved platform, but that is not all that has changed. In an effort to get you more tape breakdown analysis each week, we are enlisting Bill Ott — also known as SuperHorn for those who followed his work at Music City Miracles — to break down the defense each week while I (Mike Herndon) breakdown the Titans offense.

Additionally, we are introducing the Broadway Breakdowns series featuring Justin Graver that will go in-depth on one or two key plays from the game, as well as In the Trenches with former offensive line coach Ryan Watson, where Ryan will break down the offensive and defensive line play for the Titans each week.

As you get into the tape breakdown section of this article, you might find yourself asking “where are the gifs?” Well… NFL rules dictate that we cannot use gifs or videos from the All-22 footage supplied by NFL Game Pass. However, we believe that what you will find below is the same great analysis that you’ve come to expect from these features with enough visual aids to help you see the tactical approach the team took to that specific play and why it was — or wasn’t — successful.

With our expanded team of analysts working to break down the tape, we are going to be able to dive deeper than ever before and consistently provide you with a deeper understanding of the “why” behind football’s controlled chaos. We hope you enjoy and look forward to your feedback.

I think it’s fair to say that the Titans offense had a good-not-great day on Sunday. Yes, they only scored 16 points — a number that won’t get it done most weeks in the modern NFL — but they played well enough for 23 points if their kicker had converted at a league average rate. That’s still not great, but it’s acceptable, especially against a good Denver defense in Mile High stadium.

The Titans offense took a ton of snaps in this game. Their 81 offensive plays in regulation rank 5th among all NFL games played since the start of 2019. However, they weren’t terribly efficient with their snaps, checking in at just 4.83 yards per offensive snap, just the third time the Tennessee offense has dropped below 5 yards per snap since Ryan Tannehill took over as quarterback (vs Tampa Bay and at New England are the other two).

On the positive side, they were able to avoid negative plays. The Titans did not have a turnover — though they did have a couple close calls — and they ended up with only two negative plays on offense (a sack of Ryan Tannehill for a 2 yard loss and a pass to Anthony Firkser that went for a loss of 1).

That’s a pretty significant development too. In 2019, the Titans averaged over 7 negative plays per game and the last time they played the Broncos, they had 12. Avoiding the negative play is huge for this offense as it keeps Derrick Henry and the play action game viable when you’re able to maintain a manageable down and distance consistently.

So where were the big chunk plays that we became so used to seeing in 2019 from the Titans offense?

Author: Mike HerndonAfter over 20 years of annoying his family and friends with constant commentary about the Titans, Mike started writing down his thoughts in 2017 for Music City Miracles. He loves to dive into the All-22 tape and highlight the nuanced details that win and lose football games. You can now find his tape breakdowns and Anthony Firkser love letters at Broadway Sports. Mike also spends time laughing at Lebowski and yelling at Zach on the Football and Other F Words Podcast.