In a game to win the division, the offense showed up and took care of business against a division rival. The Titans will host the Ravens next Sunday in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.
Three Down:
The defense: Every week is the same. The offense bails out the defense or this team loses. This week, the defense gave up 457 yards of offense and 38 points. I’ve really never seen anything like it, because they cannot get or keep any sort of momentum or positive play. If they can stop the Ravens a few times, they can win, but more likely than not, the playoff game(s) for this team will all be shootouts.
AFC South title drought: The Titans hadn’t won the division since 2008, when they started 10-0. Twelve years later, the AFC South champions reside in Nashville, Tennessee. Hosting a home playoff game was one of the goals the team had publicly stated this offseason and now they get it. Time to take care of business at home.
The pass-rush haters: A much maligned facet of the defense is the pass rush, which had been historically bad. No more! After a three-sack performance against the Texans, the team is fixed, right? Well, maybe not, but one can hope that Wyatt Ray and Brooks Reed have made this pass rush lethal.
Three Up:
Derrick Henry: Stud. I had doubts the last couple of weeks if Henry would reach 2,000 yards rushing. Silly me, as it became clear early in the game that he was going to gallop past the 2K milestone with 250 yards on the day at a clip of 7.4 yards per carry. Insane numbers from the king. Just like last season, the rushing attack is one to be feared going into the playoffs.
A.J. Brown: Brown was banged up in this one, as he has been for most of the year. Still, he was unstoppable, going for 151 yards on 10 receptions and a touchdown. He also ran open on the last second chuck by Tannehill to set up the game winning field goal by Sam Sloman. Arthur Juan more than made up for the lackluster day by Corey Davis by absolutely dominating on Sunday.
Ryan Tannehill: The Titan signal caller was money on Sunday as he has been most of this year. His numbers would have been even better than the 8 yards per attempt if not for the multiple drops by the offense. Even so, he threw for a touchdown and ran for two more, and continues to make that bootleg absolutely diabolical for defenses to cover. He played some great football in this game, and was able to put a poor game against Green Bay behind him. On to Baltimore now.
