How the Titans' biggest strength failed them in loss to Bengals
In a game where points were at a premium, the Tennessee Titans left plenty on the field in the team’s 20-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Titans’ offense has excelled in the red zone this season. Coming into the game, Tennessee had converted 74 percent of its red zone trips into touchdowns, ranking second […]
In a game where points were at a premium, the Tennessee Titans left plenty on the field in the team’s 20-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Titans’ offense has excelled in the red zone this season. Coming into the game, Tennessee had converted 74 percent of its red zone trips into touchdowns, ranking second in the NFL behind the Bengals (75%).
However, one of the Titans’ biggest strengths happened to be one of the primary reasons for the loss.
On Sunday, Tennessee made three trips to the redzone, but only managed to score a total of six points. Caleb Shudak, filling in for the injured Randy Bullock, connected on two field goals in the red area, but missed a 35-yard attempt just four seconds before the halftime whistle.
Following the loss, Ryan Tannehill touched on the offense’s 0-3 effort in the redzone.
“We had some opportunities where we stubbed our toe a little bit and stopped drives that had chances to keep going,” Tannehill said.
He mentioned that the offense must be cleaner in the most important part of the field.
“We put a lot of focus and attention in practice down in the redzone, pride ourselves in being good down there, and today we didn’t execute well enough.”
In games where Derrick Henry can’t get it going on the ground, offensive coordinator Todd Downing must get creative with a mobile quarterback in Tannehill.
The Titans’ defense has bailed the offense out countless times this season, but when playing dynamic offenses, like Cincinnati, and the Philadelphia Eagles next week, the offense must begin to pull its weight.
Featured image via Andrew Nelles – USA TODAY Sports
