NASHVILLE — So far in 2023, the Tennessee Titans have looked like a completely different team at Nissan Stadium than they have away from it.

Despite their 4-7 record, the Titans have not lost a game in Nashville this season (4-0), but have struggled on the road. Away from Nissan Stadium, Tennessee is 0-7 this year including six road games and one game in London against the Baltimore Ravens.

This may seem like an enigma to some or a coincidence to others. But there’s a good reason for the Titans’ road woes in 2023, and it has nothing to do with home field advantage or environment.

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Titans quarterback Will Levis was asked about the team’s home and road tendencies after Sunday's win over the Carolina Panthers, but the rookie didn’t have an explanation for the trend. “I don’t know, I guess we’ve got good fans,“ said Levis.

Could it really be that simple? Tennessee is averaging 24.8 points of offense at Nissan Stadium and a pathetic 12.3 points of offense when traveling. Does something as small as crowd noise really change games that drastically? Not in my opinion.

Head coach Mike Vrabel gave what I believe to be the correct explanation for those numbers in Monday's press conference. Vrabel pointed to the quality of opponents, specifically defenses, that his Titans have played away from home this season.

"I don't want to say sit here and say that we've played good defenses, but I know that's probably part of it," said Vrabel. "We have, I think, played good defenses. You look at where the Saints were Week 1, and I felt like that was a good defense. Pittsburgh on the road, you see the type of defense that they play. We know that we have to be better. Right now, we're focused on being better at home because that's where our next game is."

This may seem like a cop out answer to some, but Vrabel actually hits the nail on the head here. To identify the real reason for the Titans' struggles on the road and success at home, you need not look further than the opponents on the schedule. It likely has less to do with Tennessee magically failing to execute outside of Nashville and more to do with the individual opponent each week.

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The Stats Prove It

Six (6) of the seven (7) defenses the Titans have played on the road are currently among the Top 12 NFL defenses in average points allowed. The Baltimore Ravens (2nd), Pittsburgh Steelers (5th), Cleveland Browns (7th), and New Orleans Saints (8th) are all in the Top 10 in that area.

Up to this point, the Titans' only road opponent not ranked in the Top 12 among scoring defenses has been the Indianapolis Colts (27th). It's not a coincidence that Tennessee's best offensive road game in points (16) and yards (348) came against the Colts.

As for those home opponents? Zero (0) of them are ranked as a Top 12 scoring defense. The Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers are the two worst NFL defenses in yards allowed. The Carolina Panthers are not only allowing 26.5 points per game, which ranks 30th in the league, they are also the only team with fewer turnovers created (7) than the Titans this season. 

The Atlanta Falcons – another home opponent for Tennessee – are not doing much better. Atlanta is tied for the 5th worst turnover rate in football. On the flip side of that coin, all seven of the teams the Titans have played on the road are ranked as a Top 14 defense in creating turnovers. 

So no…It's not about crowd noise, or sleep schedules, or the discomfort caused by a hostile environment. The Titans' road woes are due to their strength of schedule. Sometimes that's just how the cookie crumbles. Sometimes it really is that simple.

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