COLUMN: The Titans' Broken Offense Desperately Needs A.J. Brown to Return

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ⏤ Thanks to the sky-high volume of injuries they've seen during the 2021 season, the Tennessee Titans have gotten their return-to-play protocol down to a science.

"That is always something that we really take a lot of pride in," head coach Mike Vrabel said. "Unfortunately we have gotten pretty good at it."

Heading into Week 16 and their Thursday Night Football matchup with the 49ers, the Titans' process of bringing injured players back into the fold will be put to the test yet again, this time with Pro Bowl WR A.J. Brown.

While it would be irresponsible to assert that Tennessee should rush Brown's recovery by activating him for Thursday's game regardless of his readiness, it is, indeed, nearly impossible to overstate the importance of Brown returning against San Francisco.

Having a version of Brown that's even 50- or 60% effective would provide the Titans' offense with a monumental boost⏤one that the wildly underperforming unit desperately needs.

A BROKEN OFFENSE

It feels lazy and unanalytic to refer to Tennessee's offense as "broken," but the English language doesn't offer a more apt word to describe the unit's current state.

The Titans' recent skid, during which the team has lost three of four games despite strong defensive performances, has been highlighted by offensive problems⏤turnovers foremost among them.

In each of those three losses, Tennessee turned the ball over at least four times. In one of them, an embarrassing loss to the now 3-11 Texans, they gave the ball away five times.

It's conceivable that even one less turnover in each of those losses, theoretically decreasing the total to 10 in three games instead of 13, would've put the Titans in a position to win at least two of those games.

"Too many times we’ve been handing it back to the other team and putting our defense in a tough position," offensive coordinator Todd Downing said.

"It’s what’s holding us back right now."

The issues with Tennessee's offense over the last month extend beyond turnovers, though.

The unit has virtually no identity, a result of sporadic and disunified playcalling from Downing.

They can't protect their quarterback; Ryan Tannehill continues to get repeatedly speared by defensive fronts.

The run game is terribly inconsistent game-to-game; one week it's explosive and formidable, the next it's invisible and anemic.

And, even when things do line up for the unit to have success, some kind of mistake ultimately kills the momentum, such was when WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine badly beat Steelers CB Joe Haden downfield on a streak route before dropping a good throw from Tannehill.

"Me running under that catch could've changed the whole game," Westbrook-Ikhine said.

"Clean football is how you win games, and that's what we've got to do."

THE MAGIC ERASER

Luckily for the Titans, they have a magic eraser on the shelf that's capable of wiping away much of what has plagued the offense lately. That eraser plays wide receiver and wears a No. 11 jersey.

Brown's return wouldn't suddenly lead to the Titans' offensive line playing with more consistent technique, nor would it give Westbrook-Ikhine better hands.

It would, however, inject a great deal of life into a unit that has mostly been breathless for the last month.

"You look at what he has done for us over the last few years and the confidence that we have together, just the plays he has made, some of them have been spectacular," Tannehill said. "To have that ability on the field and that confidence from the offense would be huge."

Like teammate Julio Jones, Brown hasn't played a lot for the Titans in 2021 due to injury. Unlike Jones, though, Brown has consistently been a star when he is on the field.

He also has a unique chemistry with Tannehill, which is crucial. The QB-WR pair has developed a strong on-field bond over the last three years that shouldn't take any time to be resuscitated upon Brown returning.

"The banked reps there are deep, so we can pull from those," Tannehill said.

Having a short week of preparation certainly works against Brown and his readiness for Thursday night, and evaluating his health with limited practice time will be tough for the Titans.

If everything works out, though, and Brown can play, the version of the Titans' offense that takes the field at Nissan Stadium against San Francisco will be vastly more functional than the disheveled unit that suffered a meltdown against the Steelers on Sunday.

Cover image: George Walker IV/The Tennessean