The Tennessee Titans have certainly created their own problematic set of questions this season. Mostly due to their play and a true lack of consistency and competence on the offensive side of the ball.

However, the offense had a chance to ease the concerns during their Week Five matchup against the Washington Commanders. The optics were a little disadvantageous, but the chance was still there for the Titans to build on something heading into the bye week.

However, despite the chance in front of them, the Titans are now heading into the bye week with more questions than answers. It's still early, but for a team with winning on their minds, that isn't ideal moving forward.

Second half troubles remain a concern

I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but the Titans' second half woes remain a big problem for this team.

Today, there were some valiant attempts towards combatting those, as the Titans scored their first points in the second half since their Week One loss to the New York Giants. But aside from that, there simply wasn't enough positivity in an aspect that's become such a struggle for this team.

The glimmer and glam from the run game in the first half? It decreased by some in the second half as Washington honed in on shutting down Derrick Henry.

The passing game faltered a bit more in the second half — although there wasn't much in the way of consistency there in the first half either — and the resulting effects were visible once again.

Much of these struggles though, came from the negligence of the offensive line, as they simply couldn't find ways to keep Washington's talented defensive line from wreaking havoc more times than not.

That much is evidenced by the five sacks Tennessee gave up.

Tannehill was under duress for much of the day, but these pressures were under the spotlight a little more in the second half, when the Titans needed points to kill Washington's comeback chances and seal the game for good.

"You gotta take care of your quarterback," Mike Vrabel said after the game. "Only bad things are going to happen when he's [Ryan Tannehill] is getting pressured and hit."

These errors up front didn't just affect the offense either. The other side of the ball suffered as well, as they were called upon to make up for the offense's egregious mistakes.

Defense being leaned on

During that time, the Titans' defense was forced onto the field multiple times in order to make up for the incompetence from the Titans' offense.

The task wasn't extremely daunting, given the quarterback they were asked to shut down throughout the game — Carson Wentz — is one of the more volatile ones in the entire league. But Wentz still has a big arm and can really put stress on defenses when he pushes the football down the field.

For the most part, they kept Wentz in check. But there were times Wentz took advantage of the defense, as evidenced by his two touchdowns and 359 passing yards.

Despite that though, the Titans still leaned on their defense to bring their desired results home. That wouldn't be the case if the offense did their job in the second half, but as we've seen over the first five weeks of the season, that isn't something you can rely on.

No example was bigger than the last drive of the game, as Washington drove all the way to Tennessee's two yard line with under 10 seconds to play.

If the Titans got a stop, they'd secure a third straight win amid their own deficiencies working against them. If the Titans' defense couldn't hold on, they'd drop to 2-3 and head into the off week with a sour taste in their mouths.

Luckily for Vrabel and company, the Titans' defense held on to give the team another win.

"I kept the faith and believed they [the defense] was going to make a play." Tannehill said after the game.

However, even with the win, the Titans still fell victim to relying on these sort of "grind it out" games where the defense is heavily leaned on to win important games.

Those games have to be avoided by the Titans as their best sources of winning. They surely can't be relied on and they'll surely come back to bite the Titans if the team doesn't change their own ways.

Because the result you get from those games never stay in your favor for a long period of time. Unless you have a dominant defense that doesn't have a lot of holes.

The Titans don't have a defense like that, which has been obvious during the year, as injuries and inefficient play has been littered across the unit. That isn't to say this defense isn't good, because it clearly still is despite the inconsistent play at corner and inside linebacker.

But this unit isn't one that can be leaned on to win you games week after week, unless the opposition can't fend for themselves, which won't be the case each week for the Titans.

This bye week should give the Titans more opportunities to work through their struggles. Whether they're on the offensive side or the heavily relied on defensive side.

Whatever the case may be, improvements are desperately needed. Because if they aren't made, then the Titans will be left vulnerable, and that's the last place this team — that isn't in the best of shape — needs to be.

These two aspects remain the biggest question marks for the Titans. Do the Titans have the capabilities to answer them and avoid meeting face to face with trouble further down the road?

We don't know for sure yet.

But we do know this. If these questions aren't answered, then the Titans as a whole will run into more problems.

The Titans can't afford to do that, not right now, not during the immediate and foreseeable future either.

Featured image via Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports