Robert Saleh cited 3rd downs as the difference in Titans Week 2 loss, but film review tells the real story of defensive failures against Eagles
Robert Saleh pointed to key moments where the Eagles out-executed Tennessee, and the film backs him up in revealing ways.
The Tennessee Titans lost a close one to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2, falling 24-20 in a game that came down to the wire. and when you dig into the tape and do the autopsy on what went wrong, the Titans obviously lost on the margins.
Titans coach Robert Saleh identified this in his postgame press conference almost immediately, telling reporters that key moments in the game saw his team get out-executed. Then on Monday morning in his follow-up presser, Saleh was asked explicitly what the Eagles did to allow their run game to dominate time of possession despite the Titans having the more efficient rushing attack. His answer was simple (and correct): Philadelphia absolutely killed Tennessee on third down.
They won the money downs decisively.
By the end of the game, the Eagles were 11 for 18 on third down and 1 for 1 on fourth down (they succeeded on a second 4th down thanks to a penalty). They generated 23 first downs. That’s a very good day at the office!
So I picked out 10 of their third down conversions, almost all through the air, to identify what was going on with the Titans defense on each play.
While watching the game live, it certainly felt like the Titans secondary, especially in zone defense, was not on the same page. It was so soft at times that it felt like Tennessee was giving Philadelphia whatever it wanted in the passing game. Having now watched the entirety of the defensive tape, I still believe the Titans’ zone was not nearly tight enough to be acceptable in a game. The fact that starting outside cornerback Cor’Dale Flott was a late scratch due to tightness that kept him out of Friday’s practice made matters worse. His absence meant backup Micah Robinson had to step in, and you could tell the coaching staff was concerned about him being a liability (especially in man).
That said, after watching those third downs in a vacuum, I came away feeling a bit less bothered about the Titans being on the same page schematically. My real takeaway was that on a lot of these plays, the Eagles simply won one-on-one matchups. They had the better football players on the field in those moments, which is the mark of a more veteran, more battle-tested squad. The Titans losing those matchups reveals talent deficiencies in spots and youth in others. Lets take a look at each of them together:
First quarter: Robinson gets shaken, Hill flashes instincts
The very first third down conversion may have been the worst. With 12:17 left in the first quarter on 3rd-and-12, the Titans defense had done exactly what it wanted to do by getting the Eagles into a long-yardage situation. But Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts dropped back and found wide receiver Dontavian Wicks for a 27-yard completion anyways.
Wicks put a move on Robinson at the top of his route and shook him out of his boots. Robinson got caught biting to the boundary, and that was about as easy a deep catch as an NFL quarterback and receiver will get. That play showed the deficiency of the backup outside cornerback spot pretty plainly.
The next conversion came on 3rd-and-5 inside Tennessee territory with 8:44 to play in the first. Hurts found an 8-yard completion to wide receiver DeVonta Smith. This, my friends, was an example of Smith just getting what Smith gets. He is one of the best receivers in the league, and a quick in-breaker against man like that is going to be completed if the ball is placed well.
It was. There is not a whole lot the Titans can do about that. That is just good offense.
Another conversion came in the red zone on that same drive. Hurts found Wicks again for 7 yards. Wicks sat down in the zone with a nice feel for the coverage, but rookie linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. started to close the gap. You can see him accelerate toward Wicks early enough that he could have jumped the pass if he had fully committed.
He held up just a beat, and the ball was placed outside of Hill’s frame in the right spot for Wicks to come down with it. But I see you, young man! That is the kind of play where you want to reinforce Hill’s instinct and tell him that he is athletic enough to go make that play if he trusts it.
The last first quarter conversion came on 3rd-and-8 with just seconds left in the period. Hurts found a 14-yard completion to rookie receiver Mekhi Lemon across the middle.
The Titans sent five on the rush, but their blitzing linebacker was stymied by running back chip help. With plenty of time in a clean pocket, Hurts found Lemon one-on-one with safety Kevin Winston Jr. The rush needed to make a bigger impact on that play.
Second quarter: Hurts’ savvy and Wicks’ clutch play
With 4:22 left in the second quarter on 3rd-and-4, this was the one run play on my list. Hurts faked the handoff and got edge rusher Jacob Martin to bite down on the interior run. He tucked the ball and took off toward the first down marker. Jalen Hurts is just going to get those.
That is a quarterback playing to his strengths, a veteran offense executing, and a good play call.
On 3rd-and-12 with 2:39 to play before halftime, the Titans once again had the Eagles in a long-yardage situation, trying to force a longer field goal attempt. But Hurts found Wicks again for a 15-yard completion. Wicks finished with five catches in this game, by the way, and all five went for first downs. He was the ultimate “gotta-have-it” guy.
This is another one I have a hard time blaming the Titans for. Hurts hit the defense with a pump fake that pinned down the underneath cornerback and opened the window for Wicks on the deep out route to the boundary. The safety closed in, but it was too late. That was savvy quarterback play and a nice throw and catch. The pass rush only sent four. Good offense just beat defense there.
Second half: Schematic questions and elite execution
In the third quarter on 3rd-and-5 with 8:49 to play, this was one I honestly do not understand. Hurts immediately went to throw to running back Saquon Barkley in the flat. The linebacker responsible for Barkley took off sprinting the second the ball was snapped, but he started between the left tackle and left guard at the top of the screen while Barkley was lined up alongside Hurts in the backfield at the bottom.
Barkley already had a 5-yard advantage in the direction he was going to run. Both players sprinted to the flat, but the Titans defender was running through traffic. I suppose this was a total play-call mismatch, because 100 times out of 100, when I see where the offensive player starts and where the defensive player starts here, I know who I am betting on! There was no way for that defender to effectively cover it. I will be asking coaches and players who understand this better than I do during the week.
In the fourth quarter on 3rd-and-12 with 9:21 to play, Hurts found Smith for 13 yards against cornerback Alontae Taylor. This was another example of Smith just being good at football. The chemistry between quarterback and receiver, built over years of working together, showed in the anticipation on the throw.
Smith ran a comeback at the sticks and got exactly the yardage he needed. The Titans only sent four. Good ball by the Eagles once again. At some point, your players have to win one-on-ones if you’re going to win the game.
Final drive: Wicks wins again, Smith seals it
The last two conversions came on the Eagles’ game-winning drive. On 3rd-and-6 in Philadelphia territory with 1:48 remaining, Hurts found Wicks yet again for 20 yards. The Titans sent six against five in protection, creating a numbers advantage on the blitz. Wicks was cornerback Marcus Harris’s responsibility on this play.
In the traffic of a three-man route concept at the top of the screen, Wicks put a nice little move on Harris to freeze him for just a beat before taking off downfield. The blitz did its job in that it got linebacker Cody Barton a free shot at the quarterback, but Barton hesitated while waiting for the hole to open. That rush has to get home and affect the quarterback faster. Still, that does not take away from Wicks putting a quality move on the coverage.
The final conversion came on 3rd-and-6 inside the 5-yard line. Hurts found Smith for a toe-tapping catch on the boundary.
I am not sure if the Titans safety was supposed to crash down faster or harder, but overall this seems like a really, really nice offensive play by an elite receiver. Hard to defend this!
The bottom line is that on a lot of these plays, the Titans just got outclassed by an offense full of players who are really good at what they do. Hurts had an up-and-down game overall with the interceptions he threw, but on the money downs, he was pretty fantastic upon rewatch. I have to give him his props in this one. I felt much better about his performance after watching the film than I did in real time.
The Titans defense still has to tighten a lot of things down. When they send pressure, they need to get home more effectively. On the back end, especially in zone, they have to be a more cohesive unit. But on the whole, that was an example of money downs being won by the better team.
