Woof. After trouncing the Colts in Indy last week, the Titans decided to not show up for their home game against the Browns until the second half.
Three Down:
Mike Vrabel’s defense: It has been a problem for the entire year, but the defense could not have been worse on Sunday. I almost caveated this statement by restricting it to the first half, but if you give up 41 points in a game, you did a terrible job.
38 points to the Browns in the first half is as embarrassing as it gets. No team has managed to give up that many points in a half this year. Breon Borders got picked on for most of the game, and Baker Mayfield had four touchdowns in the first two quarters.
All wide receivers and running backs on the Titans except for Corey Davis, Cam Batson and Jeremy McNichols: Derrick Henry had 60 yards rushing, 4 yards per attempt and a fumble. A.J. Brown had two fumbles and a big dropped pass. Adam Humphries had what ended up being a massive drop that turned into an interception.
Henry and Brown are your two studs on offense, and you have to get better production from them. They can’t put the ball on the ground like they did in this game.
The officiating: I hate blaming the refs for games, and that’s not what I’m doing here. However, they need to be held accountable for being atrocious at their jobs. Early in the game they had accumulated this rap sheet.
They also had a seemingly easy catch call to make on the sideline with Cam Batson, that ended up having to be reviewed. They got it right after the review, but it was pretty clear prior to that what the call should have been.
Three Up:
Second half effort: After a half, the scoreboard showed 38-7 in favor of the Browns. In the second half, the Titans scored 28 points compared to three they gave up to Cleveland. I am not sure why this team seemingly takes a half to warm up sometimes, but it does. Ryan Tannehill was very good in this game, and I thought they should have let him cook more in the first half.
Cam Batson made a couple of really nice grabs including one at the end of the game. He also returned kickoffs, which should spell the end of Kalif Raymond on the kickoff return team.
Corey Davis had a monster game, and he makes the argument every week that he should be re-signed.
Jeremy McNichols scored his first career touchdown which is pretty cool for him despite the final result.
MyCole Pruitt had two touchdowns this game, which is a career high for him. He saved A.J. Brown from turning over his second fumble of the game and had another nice receiving TD.
The heat on Mike Vrabel to hire a defensive coordinator this offseason: Mike absolutely has to hire a defensive coordinator after the season. You cannot go into 2021 with the same plan as this year, because it is not working. When Baker Mayfield is carving you up, it’s time to make changes.
The Titans ability to Titan: All week, the Titans were considered a top-three team in the AFC by national pundits and fans alike. The division felt like it was wrapped up after the Colts game. That’s when the Titans are the most dangerous to the people that love them. They followed it up with a sad effort, and it’s hard to imagine why no one saw it coming.
Get ready for a string of two wins against the Jaguars and the Lions before another potential downer against the Packers.
