Titans' second straight loss should serve as a cry for defensive help

By John Glennon

If there's any silver lining to be pulled from the Titans' two-game losing streak, maybe it's this: It's not hard to identify the team's problem.

At present, the Titans' defense couldn't stop cars at a crosswalk.

That's not to say the offense and special teams have been wonderful the past two weeks, during back-to-back losses to the Steelers and Bengals. Far from it. The special teams unit struggled mightily for a second straight week, in fact, missing a field goal, an extra point and surrendering a big kick-off return. The offense? It churned out 441 yards, but didn't have the finishing touch we've come to expect from Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry and company.

The real issue, of course, is a defense that was on Sunday plundered by a Cincinnati offense missing almost half its starters – four members of the offensive line and running back Joe Mixon. This wasn't Big Ben, James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster chewing up the Titans. This was a rookie quarterback, who hardly had his jersey touched – let alone feel pressure – while playing behind four replacement linemen. This was the league's 24th-ranked passing attack, hitting on 26-of-37 attempts. This was a one-win-team converting 10-of-15 third-down attempts and four-of-five trips into the red zone.

So, no, there's no . . .

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Author: John GlennonMulti-media journalist with extensive expertise covering the NFL, NHL, professional soccer and more, including the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators for The Tennessean with articles, videos and podcasts. Strengths include the ability to write quick, concise and thorough analysis, as well as the ability to uncover unique human-interest stories. In working as a reporter, John developed skills that extend beyond the sports journalism world. An efficient and effective communicator, John is confident, calm and productive under deadline pressure and knows the power of the written word. John brings to Broadway Sports a work ethic second to none, an intellectual hunger, and an ability to inform and entertain readers, viewers and listeners. Reach out directly to John at: